SGD Director's Cut
by Chris7221
Summary: What if things had gone a little differently? A butterfly here, a nail there. Disclosure, deployment, defeat. It could be our salvation- or our downfall. An alternate version of SG-1 and Atlantis, splitting off at Lost City. Rewrite/rework of Stargate Domination/SGD Season 1.
1. 1x01 Lost City 1

To new readers- the concept of SGD is sort of my version of a fix fic, the way I thought things should have gone. It splits off in Season 7 of SG-1, where Anubis' attack is far more destructive than it was in canon. This leads to disclosure, and Earth is united in a fashion against alien threats, forming the Stargate Alliance and Allied Earth Space Forces. They are also more advanced technologically, with powered armour and powerful starships. Season One stays relatively close to canon, diverging near the end. Season 2 brings in the Ori, but under drastically different circumstances.

I started writing the first season of SGD nearly two years ago, and I've improved a lot as a writer since then. Early installments, when I go back and read them, are positively facepalm-worthy. They're short, poorly written, and either follow canon too closely with no apparent explanation or follow alternate plotlines that make little sense. I'm not going to fundamentally change SGD, but I'm going to fix as much as I can. New readers will hopefully appreciate being able to start from the beginning without having to suffer through an awful story, and old readers can go back and enjoy a slightly different take on the same thing.

Although the original intention was to take existing chapters and polish them, many of them are so bad they had to be rewritten from scratch. Lost City is one of them. I hope you enjoy this new, improved version of SGD.

* * *

Doctor Elizabeth Weir, Ph.D, nervously played a small chain between her fingers. The chain in question attached a set of balances to a small bronze statue. The statue in question was sitting on a large desk made of old, sturdy wood. The desk in question was sitting in the Oval Office of the White House.

"Doctor Weir,"a friendly voice greeted, and she immediately stopped and spun around. President Henry Hayes marched from the entrance to his desk. "Sorry I kept you so late."

"Well, that's alright, I've been, uh, doing a little reading." Weir paused. Always observant, she noted Hayes' casual demeanour and the fact that he was wearing a tie, but no jacket. He came across as pleasant and charismatic- a good cover to hide one's intentions beneath. "Mr. President, I mean, this is truly so, outrageous, I feel compelled on behalf of everyone who has no idea to, that, that-"

The President picked up one of his phones- the black one, not the red one- and waved it in Weir's direction, silencing her. "Megan, could you get a car ready for Doctor Weir. Five minutes, thanks."

"Sit down," the President told her, motioning to a chair. He turned around and poured a glass of alcohol from a decanter. "Would you like something?"

"No, thank you."

Hayes took his drink and leaned against his desk. He remarked, "Your reaction was very similar to mine when I first found out."

"I'm sorry, sir, but five minutes?" Weir asked, skeptical.

"The negotiation you mediated in North Africa?" Hayes mentioned offhand.

Taking a seat on the soft, supple couch, she asked, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, just that… the Stargate probably makes that seems like child's play."

"Well, frankly sir, I have absolutely no idea what you want from me."

"You've brokered a dozen of the most sensitive international treaties in modern times. You speak God knows how many languages."

"Just five."

"Five," Hayes chewed his lip, nodding. "I suppose your aversion to the military will be an issue."

"What are we talking about, exactly?" Weir asked. She knew that she would have to work with the military, but she had no idea to what degree. She didn't even know how or why they wanted her involved, though she was starting to piece together the clues.

"You running the Stargate Program."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Oh, uh..."

The President continued on. "We've already done the initial review. We've decided to suspend current operations until a new government division can be established."

He sat down on the couch next to Weir. "There's no question the Stargate is a dangerous thing. Given what we know is going on out there, it's something we cannot ignore."

"No, obviously not," Weir mused. She turned to the President. "I don't want this to sound like a terribly self-centred question, but why me?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, I'm betting other world leaders are pressuring you for control," Weir began. This was something she knew how to do. "I can advise you there. But I am not qualified to negotiate with aliens."

"No one is, Doctor," Hayes admitted. "Not you, not me. But someone has to do it. The fact is, we can't keep this thing a secret forever."

"And you want to put a friendly face on this when it goes public." Weir surmised. "Someone a little less threatening than an Air Force general."

"People will panic. It's going to take anything and everything we have to keep our civilization from turning upside down." The President checked his watch before getting up and heading to the door. "But make no mistake, you're not just a figurehead for the sake of publicity. I chose you for a damn good reason."

Weir stood up and followed him to the door. "I take it my five minutes are up."

"Actually, it was seven." He smiled and opened the door. "Don't worry, this is just the beginning."

Before she made it out the doorway, Weir stopped and turned to the President. "What if I say no, sir?"

"Never going to happen."

Weir nodded and left as President Hayes greeted the next visitor to his office. In the hall she met the man who had brought her there.

"So, things aren't quite as simple as they seem," Vice President Kinsey said right away. Unlike Hayes, it was obvious to Weir that Kinsey was a player. He was a pure politician, only concerned for his own political career. Perhaps that was unfair- Kinsey had been pleasant and helpful to Weir, but she couldn't help but think he was up to something in the background.

"Well, they never seemed simple, sir," Weir replied, still overwhelmed.

"Be careful who you trust, Doctor," Kinsey warned. There was a subtle threat evident in his voice.

"Does that include you, sir?"

"He may be the President, but I am the one person on this fair planet you want on your side, and the one person you don't want to cross." He left, leaving Doctor Weir with even more to think about.

* * *

_Stargate Command_

The elevator doors slid open, and Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped out, a folded piece of newsprint in his hand. He stopped only a few feet away, the rest of his team glaring at him. He asked casually, "How long have you been waiting for?"

Daniel Jackson tapped his watch. "You said half an hour _an hour ago_."

"General Hammond's waiting," Major Samantha Carter added.

They began heading toward the briefing room. Jack handed the crossword to the blonde-haired Major, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. She looked it over for a moment before telling him in disgust, "The fate of the world is hanging in the balance, and you've been sitting in your truck, finishing _this_?"

"I believe it was double or nothing."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Okay, so, I translated the ancient writing on the colonnade SG-2 discovered on P3X-439 and found a reference to the library of the Ancients. I think that it's a repository-"

"One of the head-sucking things that grabbed my head, made me talk crazy and then nearly killed me? Sounds like we should stay away, then."

"Well, sir, considering what we know now, we should be able to find another way to access the information," Sam informed him, climbing the staircase that led to their destination. "Obviously we haven't been able to try anything for real, but we've made a lot of progress in theoretical work."

"Theoretical work," O'Neill echoed disdainfully.

"Look, the point is that we should go there as soon as possible," Daniel concluded as the entered the briefing room.

"Harper, Reynolds," O'Neill greeted upon noticing the two men.

"Sir!"

"Jack."

"SG-3 spotted a Goa'uld reconnaissance drone while on the planet where they found the colonnade," Carter explained to her superior. "Since that obviously means the Goa'uld were aware of its existence, SG's 3 and 5 will be providing back-up. Both teams are equipped and trained for the latest Aegis suits and we'll be packing heavy weapons. Of course, General Hammond has to approve the mission first."

"Good morning, SG-1," the General greeted as he entered the room. He sounded tired, distracted. With the threat of global annihilation on everyone's mind, it was hardly surprising. He walked up to O'Neill. "Nice of you to join us."

"Good morning, sir," the Colonel replied, taking his seat. The rest of the room followed.

"I've read Doctor Jackson's report on his translation," Hammond began. "Given what happened the last time you encountered something like this, I'm surprised you're so willing to take on this mission."

"So am I, sir," O'Neill quipped.

"Jack," Daniel prodded. "Why wouldn't we want to gain access to the greatest repository of knowledge in the known universe, once and for all finding the lost city of the Ancients, and use their technology to save the entire galaxy from the evil oppression of the goa'uld?"

"Well, there's that."

"From the mission file I've read, it's one of those things that whips up from the wall, grabs your head and rearranges your brain, right?" Colonel Reynolds asked.

"Sort of," Daniel told him.

"Sort of?"

"It basically downloads the entire library of Ancient knowledge into a person's mind," Carter explained. "That massive amount of data then slowly unspools into your brain, eventually taking over your consciousness completely."

"Except it wasn't meant for a physiology as primitive as ours, so it kills you in a matter of days," Daniel added.

"The report says that almost happened last time, sir," Harper mentioned.

"The Asgard removed the information from O'Neill's mind before he was lost to us," Teal'c told him.

"So, why don't we just shoot Thor a call, get him standing by as backup," O'Neill suggested.

Carter shook her head. "We tried, sir, he's not responding."

"None of our alien allies have been particularly reliable of late. Should something happen again-"

Daniel cut Hammond off. "General, no one's saying anyone should directly interface with the device, we're suggesting we extract it and bring it home for study."

"The engineering team that studied the last one of these devices you found determined nothing, after six months of research," he stated in response.

"We believe that that device's power source was depleted after Colonel O'Neill activated it," Carter explained.

The General turned to O'Neill. "Recent intel suggests that Anubis has become a serious threat to dominate the rest of the Goa'uld in a very short time. We have to consider Earth is at risk now, more than ever.

"If the knowledge contained within this device can lead us to technologies we can use to defend ourselves, we must pursue it. You have a go. And be careful, people."

* * *

_P3X-439_

The gate was located in an area like most of the others SG-1 had visited in the past seven years. The gravity and air pressure was almost the same as Earth, with an atmospheric composition that would be considered clean at home. Temperature-wise, it was a little warm, but well within the acceptable range for humans. The area around the gate was forested, with a large grassy clearing scattered with large chunks of stone rubble. In the distance was their target, a massive stone effigy of a sitting man with the head long gone, leaving large amounts of shattered debris around it. It was surrounded by the colonnade where they found the inscription.

"Reynolds," O'Neill called. "Set up a defence perimeter as you see fit. Hold the gate 'till we get back."

"You got it," Reynolds acknowledged before directing his own men.

"SG-1, move out." They broke into a fast walk, heading toward the structure in the distance. It was the first time O'Neill had covered any sort of distance wearing full armour, and his initial impression was not a fond one. It was very odd, and though he _felt_ light on his feet, he could tell he was sinking in more because of increased ground pressure. It was extremely unnatural.

It didn't take long to reach the ancient stone structure, and then the slow part began. Daniel quickly began unpacking and searching the ruins with Carter and Teal'c. O'Neill stood watch- or rather sat watch, ostensibly guarding against any incoming threat. He checked his watch. It had been an agonizing hour and... three minutes.

"You know, we've searched this place, up and down."

"I know," Daniel replied, briefly glancing up from his notebook.

"We could have Goa'uld on our collective asses any minute now."

"I know." Daniel paused. "According to the text on this column, it's inside."

O'Neill slowly stood up, which seemed even more unnatural than walking. He strode over to where the rest of his team stood. "Inside, you say?"

The structure was composed of a row of columns perhaps two metres away from a solid wall, all covered with inscriptions, all below the large statue. The Colonel gestured around them. "There is no 'inside'. There's just a whole lotta outside."

"I know," Daniel replied.

"I'm getting some strange readings coming from here," Carter interrupted, pointing out a section of wall.

"And it took you this long to find it?" O'Neill asked, in mock disbelief.

Her answer was absolutely serious. "The sensors in my suit are highly experimental. I thought it was just a glitch in the system until I dug deeper and isolated the signal."

"Huh. If I'm right..." Daniel pressed several symbols on the wall in front of him, then pressed several more lower down. A roughly circular, ridged black object appeared on the wall Carter was looking at, and she jumped back in surprise.

"Looks like we found it," O'Neill stated. He keyed the comm system with a movement of his jaw- something he wasn't used to. There was also a button on the grip of his modified FAL rifle, but he found that even worse. "Reynolds, come in."

"Go ahead," the other Colonel acknowledged.

"Yeah, we got something here, stand by." Beside him, Daniel turned to Carter and mouthed 'something'. She shrugged in response.

"All clear for the moment."

"Now we just have to figure out how to get this thing out of the wall," Carter mused. "Any ideas?"

"Grab and rip?" O'Neill asked. "You mentioned the joint servos and artificial whatsits-"

"Muscles, sir, artificial muscles. Not quite an accurate term, but it sounds better than 'bio-mimetic electroreactive linear actuator'."

"Two to three times normal human strength?"

"Between five and ten, actually, sir, although only some of that is actually usable."

"Exactly. Why don't you just grab that thing and tear it out of the wall?"

"You can't be serious, Jack!" Daniel objected. He took a step forward and the device snapped out at him. He immediately took a step back.

"Alright, one more time, why are we doing this, why?"

It began as a feeling, a twisting in his gut that something was wrong. He thought he might have heard something, saw a flicker on the horizon. Colonel Reynolds turned to the airman monitoring the sensor readouts on the MALP. "You hear anything, Harper?"

Instead of dispelling his suspicions, he only confirmed them. "Sir, we got multiple bogeys, coming in fast!"

Colonel Reynolds immediately flicked the safety off his weapon as the men around him prepared for battle, taking positions behind cover and getting their weapons ready to fire. "Dial the gate! Send constant radio signal, we have to keep that door open!"

"SG-1, we have incoming."

Colonel O'Neill ducked behind one of the columns as a pair of Death Gliders strafed the ancient structure with their staff cannons. A faint blue glow briefly pulsed around him and a bar appeared on his HUD, showing that his shields had been automatically raised. It was too much like a video game for him. He turned to his team. "Alright, let's go."

"Jack, we can't just leave!" Daniel argued.

"Daniel-"

"We must not let this fall into the hands of Anubis," Teal'c added.

"Fine." O'Neill opened a pouch on his tactical vest and removed two sticks of C4, placing them next to the Repository.

"JACK!" Daniel shouted. Outside, a pair of cargo ships had landed, disgorging groups of Jaffa. Most of them headed for the Stargate, but a dozen split off, heading straight for them.

"Sir, he's right," Carter argued, shouting over the loud chattering of her battle rifle. She took two of the Jaffa down before a staff blast grazed took down her shields and she dropped back behind cover. "If we destroy it we lose our only chance of finding the location of the Lost City."

"O'Neill," Teal'c called, motioning with his head toward the incoming Jaffa.

"Alright, then what?" O'Neill asked, shouldering his own weapon.

"Jack, someone has to do it. The answer is in there." Daniel said quickly. "If we don't find the Lost City we're as good as dead. Let me do it!"

"And who does the translating when you go Ancient?" O'Neill shot back. He stood up and began moving toward the Repository. "Carter's too valuable, and it doesn't work on Teal'c, so here goes nothing."

Jack removed his helmet, clipping it to his tactical vest, and plunged his head toward the device. It reached out and grabbed him before beginning to download an incomprehensible amount of information into his brain.

"Jack!"

"Sir!"

"O'Neill!"

As he collapsed against the stone wall, Colonel Reynolds' voice came over the comm net. "SG-1, where the hell are you guys? We can't hold out for long!"

"Colonel Reynolds, we are headed back to the gate!" Carter told him. Beside her, Teal'c and Daniel picked up their unconscious teammate and began carrying him away, toward the gate. She brought up the rear, firing away at the Jaffa still marching toward them. She winced as a staff blast flew straight towards her and fizzled against her shields, wiping them out again. Holding her rifle in one hand, she squeezed the detonator in the other.

Behind them, the C-4 exploded, obliterating the Repository of Knowledge, a good chunk of the wall it was mounted on, and most of the pillar in front of it. It also momentarily distracted the Jaffa, allowing SG-1 to move towards the gate unopposed for several seconds.

"Hold positions!" Reynolds shouted. Around him, it was barely controlled chaos. One of his machine gunners was trying to engage a Death Glider with his M240B, while the other was shredding the Jaffa as they came over the ridge. Everyone was shooting, either at the attack craft in the air or the troops on the ground. Beside the Colonel, a Stinger missile leaped into the air, tracking and obliterating a Death Glider. "Breise, you're with me!"

They ran toward SG-1 with the intention of meeting in the middle. Unlike O'Neill, Reynolds didn't have time to think about how odd moving about in his armour was. He was, however, thankful when it stopped a staff blast aimed at his chest.

Ten metres away, the flagship team dove to the ground as a Death Glider entered a strafing run. Reynolds and Breise did the same, getting up as soon as the deadly craft had passed. He helped Teal'c lift O'Neill up before beginning to head back to the gate as the rest provided covering fire.

"General Hammond, we're coming through the gate!" he shouted as they approached. Ahead of him, the first elements of his team began the retreat as the rest covered them. The Jaffa were pushing forward, protected by Death Gliders and Al'kesh. He pushed SG-1 toward the wormhole. "We're right behind you, sir, go, go!"

* * *

_Stargate Command_

As soon as the teams came through and the gate shut down, General Hammond strode in through the blast doors. Immediately, he eyed their dirty, scratched and burnt suits and asked, "What happened?"

"Didn't quite go according to plan, sir," the now-lucid O'Neill told him.

"We have to get him to the infirmary," Daniel insisted, helping him along.

"I did it again," O'Neill explained curtly. Hammond sighed in disbelief as he watched them leave.

Ten minutes later, after they had changed, the members of SG-1 minus O'Neill convened in the briefing room. The stood up as General Hammond entered the room.

"How the hell did this happen?" the General asked immediately.

"It wasn't an accident, sir," Carter told him.

"He did it deliberately," Daniel added.

"In order to access the knowledge of the Ancients," Teal'c finished.

"He, uh, figured we'd never get another shot at it," Daniel elaborated.

"We know from experience that the Ancient knowledge will essentially overwrite the Colonel's brain," Carter explained. "We're hoping that during the transformation process he'll become aware of the information we're looking for. And then it will overwhelm his nervous system and the Colonel will-"

Colonel O'Neill climbed up the stairs into the room. "What? Meet my maker? Pay the piper? Reach the pearly gates? Start pushing up daisies here and there?"

"You should be in the infirmary," Hammond told him, quietly.

"Why? We all know exactly what's going to happen. In a few days I start speaking some strange language, a few days after that I start doing things beyond my control, and a few days after that… it's goodnight my someone, goodnight."

He paused and turned to the General. "So, with your permission, sir, I'd like to take the weekend, get a few personal things together."

"The last time, it did take a couple of days before we noticed any change in the Colonel's behaviour." Carter assured him.

"Permission granted."

"Thank you, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me, my favourite television show starts in half an hour."

* * *

_Jack O'Neill's Cabin_

"It's the perfect analogy. Burns as Goa'uld."

SG-1 sat around the coffee table. Daniel was balancing an orange on top of a beer bottle, with several empty ones in close proximity. Teal'c nursed a glass of fruit juice, and both Sam and Jack were drinking beer, the former at a more moderate rate.

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have to agree. I don't see the connection."

"Alright, that does it." Jack waved his arms above his head. "You know, the entire VHS collection was going to one of you. Now it's going to Siler, he gets it."

There was a series of knocks at the door. Jack stood up to get it, muttering, "Thank God, pizza."

"Well, you're not the usual delivery boy." He mentally kicked himself as soon as he said it. The man at the door was none other than General Hammond, albeit in civilian clothes.

Before he could apologize, the General asked, "Is this a good time?"

"It's always a good time for you, sir. Come on in." He led the older man to the living room and left to get him a chair and a beer.

"General." Sam greeted, standing.

He waved her off. "At ease, Major, at ease." Behind him, Jack brought the chair, and he sat down before taking the beer. "Glad to find all of you here. I've been relieved of command."

There was a shocked pause. Quietly, O'Neill asked, "What."

"The President has effectively shut down the SGC for a three month review process," Hammond explained. "During which time a newly formed government department will take the place of Stargate Command."

"But sir, the Colonel!" Sam objected. "We don't have much time."

"How could this happen?" Teal'c asked.

"Kinsey," Daniel surmised.

"Does anyone know anyone who voted for those two shrubs?" Jack asked.

"I've known President Hayes for a long time. He's a good man," Hammond countered. "As for his running mate, Robert Kinsey brought in a lot of campaign financing and for all we know, he may have used his knowledge of the Stargate as leverage to get himself a place on the ticket."

"What, we're just gonna lie down for this?" Daniel asked.

"Now, we've been in this situation before-" Jack began.

Hammond shook his head. "This time it's different. There's too much at stake."

"Who's replacing you, sir?" Sam asked.

"Her name is Doctor Elizabeth Weir."

* * *

_Stargate Command_

"Amazing, isn't it?" Daniel Jackson asked.

"I don't really care," replied the woman standing in front of the briefing room window overlooking the gate. She was a brunette, dressed modestly in a dark blouse, pale skirt and flats.

Confused and more than a little disappointed, Daniel replied, "Okay."

The woman quickly turned around and motioned for Daniel not to leave. "Okay, bye."

She removed a wireless earpiece from her ear. "Sorry about that. I must look insane when I do that, talking to myself. Elizabeth Weir."

Daniel shook her extended hand. "Daniel Jackson."

He gestured to the table behind them, stacked with books and paperwork. "So, a little light reading?"

"I've been awake all weekend. The reality of this, it's an unbelievable adrenaline rush." She sighed. "You know, I didn't expect the warmest welcome from the military personnel."

"You're replacing a great man, uniform or otherwise," Daniel told her.

"I know. But I'm hoping that you of all people won't jump to conclusions."

"Like why someone like you is here?"

Weir raised an eyebrow. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah, someone who started their career as a political activist, lobbying against government spending on the military."

"And how I end up working for those I was criticizing. Believe me, the irony is not lost on me."

She paused again. "I don't know why I've been given this job, I really don't. But I'm going to do it to the best of my ability as long as I'm here. I plan to start by examining the program's mandate-"

"Don't underestimate the immediate threat," Daniel told her.

"No, I'm not," Weir assured him. "But this country's history of manifest destiny cannot be continue out to the rest of the galaxy. Especially when this is all being done behind the back of not just our nation but entire planet."

"Hey, I'm not saying that everything that's been going on here is right. I mean we have no right to play God. But neither do the Goa'uld," Daniel explained. "Now I know none of this seems real to you on paper, but trust me, they're pure evil. Now, if they had the chance, they would either destroy us, or enslave us all."

"All of them?" she asked, not believing it. "Pure evil? That sounds a lot like a bad comic book. Racial profiling, seeing the world in black and white. Surely it's a lot more complex than that."

"Maybe it is," Daniel conceded. "But in the world of the System Lords, only the cruelest, most brutal make it to the top. Some of the minor Goa'uld might not be too bad, but they're not the real threat. Take Apophis. If he had the chance, he would destroy or enslave us all. Anubis is even worse."

Realizing he had been leaning against the table, Daniel straightened himself out. "Now, you can read as many mission reports as you want, but before you decide what should and shouldn't be done round here, why don't you go through that gate, and see what's going on for yourself."

"In good time."

"We may not have good time. And Jack O'Neill certainly doesn't."

"I want you to know that Colonel O'Neill's current condition is of serious concern to me."

Daniel sighed. "You have to realize that Jack only did what he did because it was our only way to find the location of the Lost City. The Lost City that holds the key to the defence of-"

"Unscheduled offworld activation!" Walter's voice pierced over the intercom. The two quickly headed down into the control room, descending the staircase as the Stargate activated.

"Doctor Weir, we are receiving Bra'tac's personal IDC."

Weir nodded. "Go ahead. Open the iris."

They took another flight of stairs to the gateroom as the iris opened. An old, grizzled Jaffa emerged from the Stargate.

"Bra'tac," Daniel greeted. The Jaffa master looked at Daniel, then Weir. He frowned. "This is Elizabeth Weir. She's the new leader of this facility."

"Hello," Weir greeted.

Bra'tac turned to Daniel. "Has Hammond of Texas fallen in battle?"

"No, he's fine. There's been some... internal changes. Politics."

"I see." He did not.

Seeing the disturbed look on Bra'tac's face, Daniel asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid I am not the bearer of good news. We've had word from Jaffa loyal to our cause. Anubis is gathering the full force of his fleet. He will be here, in three days."

They headed up to the conference room, where SG-1 was waiting. Bra'tac repeated the news, to which Jack snidely replied, "Three days from now's a Thursday. Thursday's not good for us."

"Why now?" Carter asked.

"If Anubis believes that we know the location of the Lost City-" Teal'c began.

She cut him off. "We don't."

"Yes, but he doesn't know that we don't know," Daniel said.

Vice President Kinsey climbed up the staircase into the room. He was about the last person O'Neill was expecting to see- or wanted to see. The man taunted, "Well, some people just don't know when to leave."

"Shall we take a seat?" Weir offered. Each of them sat down as suggested, with Kinsey beside Weir at the head of the table. "Obviously this is a matter of grave importance."

"Which is why I've taken it upon myself to come on down and hear what Mister Bra'tac has to say personally," Kinsey finished, though everyone could sense the insincerity in his voice. "So, you believe this Goa'uld, Anubis, is planning to attack?"

"You may be certain of it," Bra'tac assured him.

"I'll say this, the timing is impeccable." Kinsey accused. "The moment we suspend Stargate operations you pull this out of your hat."

"Mr. Vice President, if you're suggesting that we'd make something like this up-" O'Neill began to argue.

The Vice President cut him off. "Yes, Colonel, that's exactly what I'm suggesting!"

"Yes, well that is exactly what we do," O'Neill replied sarcastically. "We sit around on our fat asses and create scenarios that put the planet at risk. That's exactly what we do."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do just about anything," Kinsey retorted. O'Neill wasn't sure if the double entendre was deliberate or not.

"Gentlemen, for the purposes of this discussion that Master Bra'tac is in earnest," Weir said diplomatically. "And that the threat is real."

"We have to consider our options. We can't win this war conventionally. We could negotiate-"

"Oh for crying our loud, that's derentis!" Everyone looked at O'Neill. "What?"

"You just said derentis," Daniel pointed out.

"Derentis, what does that mean?" Kinsey asked.

Daniel explained, "I think what Colonel O'Neill was trying to say is that based on our past experiences, negotiating would be insane, crazy."

"Yeah, I got that," Weir replied.

"However, we believe that there may be alien technology within our reach that could defeat Anubis," Carter added.

Kinsey was still incredulous. "So now you're pulling a ray gun out of your hat?"

"There are weapons capable of defending this planet," Teal'c told him.

"I can't believe we're sitting here listening to this!" Kinsey raged.

"Mister Vice President, on his last mission-" Weir began.

"I know where it is," O'Neill said firmly. "I will. It's in there somewhere. Look, let me make this simple. I come up with the Lost City, we go find it. Yes or no?"

"No!" Kinsey shouted.

"I will consider it," Weir replied, far more diplomatically.

O'Neill nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." SG-1 smiled slightly, realizing that if Weir wasn't on their side, she was at least not on Kinsey's.

Bra'tac rose, with Teal'c following a moment later. The old master told them, "I must return to Chulak."

"I too will go," Teal'c added. Seeing O'Neill's questioning look, he elaborated, "In hope of procuring ships and warriors to defend this world."

Weir nodded. "Good luck."

Teal'c bowed, and then left with Bra'tac. SG-1 followed to see them off, leaving Weir alone with Kinsey. He immediately demanded, "What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry? What the hell was what?"

"You don't know O'Neill like I do!"

Weir sighed. "This is my call. Colonel O'Neill-"

"Is the one who got us into this mess in the first place! I want him gone, Doctor, I want them all gone. You haven't figured that out yet?"

"Oh, I've figured out quite a bit," Weir replied darkly. "This is my office, this is my chair. Until someone tells me otherwise I'm going to decisions _as I see fit_, not as they fit into your agenda."

"You have no idea what my agenda is!" Kinsey retorted.

Weir replied frankly, "I don't really care what your agenda is."

"You don't know anything, Doctor, and if you think you do, you're not as smart as I thought," Kinsey said before leaving her, with a few more unpleasant thoughts on her mind.

* * *

_The White House_

"Mister President," General Hammond greeted upon entering the Oval Office.

Hayes smiled. "General George Hammond! It was Lieutenant last time we spoke, wasn't it?"

"For both of us," he replied lightly. "That was a lot of hair ago, sir."

"You know, when I first took this job I thought I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. But then I found out what you do for a living."

He paused. "George, this had nothing to do with your record. If the American people had any idea what your contribution was-"

"That you sir. That's kind of you to say. One day, maybe, they will."

Hayes sighed. "And that's the awkward part. We've got to make sure that day comes."

He poured himself a drink and said casually. "If I were to tell you, and I'm speaking hypothetically here, we got word from one of our offworld allies that Anubis was going to attack in three days, what would you do?"

"Right now?"

"Right now."

"Well, we would continue the attempt to find the Lost City and weapons it contains. At this point it is our last, best hope for Earth."

"Hypothetically, if you couldn't find it in time, or it turned out to be useless, what would you do next?"

"We could stall, sir, especially if Anubis believed we had an Ancient weapon capable of destroying his fleet. Of course, eventually he's going to call our bluff. After that, we can't stop an invasion but we can try to make it as difficult as possible. Despite the fact that it may show our hand, it is my recommendation to deploy the National Guard and all available military units both to keep our own people calm and to oppose an invasion force. We also have a stock of modified ballistic missiles, silo and sea launched, that may or may not be able to hit motherships in orbit, and may or may not be effective-"

"May or may not?"

"Yes, sir. The last time we tried, our weapons were completely ineffective. Though we've made advances since then, we have no idea how well the new missiles will perform until we test them. For secrecy reasons, we haven't been able to do that yet. If Anubis only brings a small fleet, we might just be able to destroy or at least cripple it."

"Let's say we do that and Anubis brings in more ships. He's called our bluff. What happens then?"

"Then, Mister President, Anubis attacks in full force. Most likely, he will begin with orbital bombardment on key targets, primarily cities. The damage will be similar to or more devastating than that of a large-scale nuclear attack, although without the lasting effects."

"Similar to or more devastating than a nuclear war," Hayes whispered, shaking his head. "I hoped to God I'd never have to do it, but I thought the worst thing that could happen would be a nuclear war. This... this is much worse."

"It's really happening, isn't it, sir," General Hammond said quietly.

"Yes, George, it is. While you were on the plane here I got word from the SGC. Anubis is on his way here as we speak."

* * *

_Stargate Command_

"Does this mean anything to you?" Daniel Jackson asked, holding out a book.

Jack O'Neill glanced at the symbols briefly before going back to his crossword. "Nope."

"Could you at least look at it?"

"Daniel, I don't speak Ancient. Yet. And when I do, eventually, you know I'll never understand it."

"You have to try," Daniel insisted.

"Look, last time things just popped into my fron."

"Fron is head." Daniel muttered.

"Now, see, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well maybe if you stop working on the stupid cross-" He grabbed for the offending slip of paper.

Jack yanked it back. "Hey, hey….I'd like to at least finish that while I can."

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be-" Sam began as she walked into the room.

Barely noticing her entrance, Daniel cut her off. "Thirteen across you wrote 'taonas'. Eight down you wrote 'proclarush'."

"What's eight down?" Sam asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Um…label. With those empty spaces I think the answer is supposed to be identification. Thirteen across is sphere. Jack, this is it."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Now, see I assume we still speak the same language…mostly."

"Sphere…planet. Label…name," Daniel explained. "Proclarush taonas. I…I think you wrote the name of the planet we will find the Lost City in the crossword."

Jack still refused to bite. "Bit of a jump?"

Exasperated, Daniel retorted, "It has to mean something!"

"It does!" He took back the crossword and looked at it again before letting out a huff of frustration. "I'm hungry!"

He led them down the drab grey corridors to a staircase, up one level, and down another set of corridors to the commissary. There, Jack grabbed a rather large lunch and they sat down at their usual table. Neither Daniel nor Sam ate, though they did grab a coffee each.

"Proclarush taonas," Daniel mused. "According to this it means lost in fire. It was lost. This has to be the planet where the Lost City is."

"Well, even if it is, knowing the name of the planet doesn't really help," Sam reminded him. "Not unless we have a gate address to get us there."

Without warning, Jack ripped the SGC patch off of Daniel's shoulder. "At."

Sam shared a look with Daniel. "What?"

"At!" the Colonel repeated.

"This?" Daniel asked, pointing to it. "This is At?"

Jack shrugged. "Don't ask me what it means, I don't know."

"I think I do." Daniel pulled out his notebook and sketched the symbol of Canis Minor. He held it out to O'Neill. "What's this?"

"Sh."

"I'm sorry, did you just tell us to be quiet, or is that what the symbol means?"

"When I look at this, I think 'sh'. Make of that what you will."

"That's it," Daniel concluded.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Proclarush Taonas. Six syllables….What if each symbol on the Stargate has a corresponding sound so they can be spoken aloud?"

"Like an alphabet," Sam replied. She shook her head. "But it doesn't make any sense. We know Stargate addresses are based on a coordinate system. Each planet would have to be named for its coordinates, which might not even form real words. Adding to the complexity, each syllable would also refer to a constellation. It's not a workable system."

"Yes, but we're talking about the Lost City of the Ancients, one of their oldest settlements. Maybe the planet came first, and they named the symbols later."

"It's possible."

"This is the gate address for the Lost City. It has to be."

Jack considered it for a moment. "Well, it's worth a shot."

* * *

_The White House_

Unbeknownst to the general public, there was a large, high-tech command bunker built under the White House. Though the President had various protective structures to evacuate to since the Second World War, the latest was built only a year ago. It was heavily protected from nuclear, conventional, and orbital attack. Underground cables led to transmitting stations around and outside the city as well as connections to landlines. The inside was packed with electrical supply and air filtration systems, powerful computers, control consoles, a large planning table, and some of the most important people in the United States.

The interior was buzzing with activity. Across the nation, units were forming up and reporting in, with the feeds being directed to the command bunker as well as Cheyenne Mountain, where other designated politicians and generals had assembled. News media had picked up on the mobilization, and their reports were fed to monitors inside the bunker. Many other nations had been informed and each had a direct line into the bunker.

President Henry Hayes stepped into the chaos. This was no time for ceremony. There were a few polite nods and "Mister President"s before the staff went back to their duties, except for the ones whose duties were specifically to inform the President.

"Sir-"

"Mister President-"

He held up his hands. "One at a time, please."

"Mister President, National Guard units are being activated across the country," General Maynard began. "Both the Army and Marines are deploying to defend key positions in the continental United States, including Washington, Cheyenne Mountain, and Area 51. We're trying to protect major cities the best we can but we simply do not have enough forces to deploy on anything but a reactionary basis."

"Hopefully they'll be able to hold the line when the time comes."

"The Air Force is also at full readiness, sir," General Jumper added. "That includes tactical air superiority and strike fighters as well as strategic bombers, Minuteman-Three strategic missiles and Minuteman-Four orbital intercept missiles. We are also focusing on defending key locations from attack as well as retaining nuclear strike capability as long as possible."

"I hope to god I don't have to give _that_ order. Admiral?"

"All battle groups are on full alert. We still have two carriers and a handful of ballistic missile boats in port- they're scheduled to leave as soon as possible. The Hydra system is online and all Trident captains have been briefed on its intention and use."

"Sir!" a technician called. She handed a phone to the President. "President Mikhailov is on the line. He says it's urgent."

"This is the President of the United States. We're in a bit of a crisis-"

"The invasion," Mikhailov seethed, the digital connection giving his voice a harsher tone than intended. "How can we be so sure? Your armies are mobilizing, and your strategic forces are at full readiness. How can we know this is not preparation for an attack?"

"You have my personal word that this is real. We have no intention to attack any nation on Earth. I assume you've been briefed on the Stargate Program?"

"Da, I have."

"Then you'll know what's at stake. You're at full strategic readiness, too, we can see that. But _we_ didn't call to ask why."

"I am sorry," the Russian President apologized, deflated. "It has been... difficult. An attack of this magnitude is... unprecedented. Many are confused. Many are unhappy. All are fearful."

"Your country has pulled through before," Hayes replied with genuine honesty. "I would give Russia a far better chance than the United States of surviving."

"Thank you, Mister President. You have _my _word that we will lend all assistance possible."

"Sir, the Chinese head of state is waiting."

"I have to deal with other matters," Hayes excused. "I wish you and your country good luck."

"And you, Mister President. Thank you."

Henry Hayes switched phones with the technician. Immediately, he was blasted with an angry stream of words. "-your armies are deploying! Your strategic forces are at high alert! China sees this as a threat to its security, as any sane country would!"

"Wait just a minute. I assume you've been made aware of the threat-"

"Ah yes, Anubis. You say he is on his way with a fleet, but you have no proof! You say you received this information from an ally, but you would not even tell us what ally! Your missiles are ready to launch, as is your starship. This could be a prelude to war!"

"I know what this looks like," Hayes replied smoothly. "But I can assure you that we have no intention of attacking any of our allies, including the People's Republic of China. We believe the information is genuine and we are acting upon it."

"We are deploying our own forces as we speak," the Chinese President told him, calmed down slightly but still with an edge to his voice. "We will defend China at all costs. I will not hesitate to give the order to destroy your cities."

"You _should_ be going to full readiness, preparing for an attack," Hayes supported. "But the attack won't be from us. And on behalf of the United States of America, I wish you luck in defending your country."

The technician told him, "He ended the call, sir."

"Mister President, I suggest you deliver your speech before things get too out of hand," General Hammond urged from beside him.

"I think you're right, George." The President paused. "Oh, that reminds me. If you're up for it, I have another assignment for you. Figured you wouldn't want to stay stuck in this bunker."

"What is it, sir?"

"How would you feel commanding Earth's last line of defence?"

"The Prometheus? I would be honoured, sir." Hammond paused. "However, I should advise you that if we launch the Prometheus, it would show our hand. It would show that we lack the advanced weaponry Anubis is afraid of."

Hayes nodded. "I know. But if SG-1 fails, we need a contingency plan. I know you'll give it your all if the need arises."

"Yes, sir."

"There's a helicopter waiting for you outside. Good luck."

As the General left, another aide called, "Mister President, they're ready for you."

"Very well." The President followed him out of the room, up a staircase through two sets of reinforced blast doors. They went down a familiar hallway and entered the White House press room. It was packed with TV crews and reporters, all attempting to ask questions.

The President of the United States held up a hand for silence. After the room quieted down, he began his speech. "My fellow Americans. What I am about to tell you will fundamentally change the way we see the world. There is a lot to cover, so this will be a long explanation, and at many points you may find it shocking. I ask you above all to stay calm and level-headed, and please hold your questions, however important they might seem, until the end.

"The question of whether we are alone in the universe has been answered."


	2. 1x02 Lost City 2

"It is clear that this is the greatest threat of our brief existence. I won't lie to you. The next few days may be the hardest in the history of humanity. The Goa'uld will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will fight against the Goa'uld tyranny, and we will prevail. I ask that you stay calm, don't panic, and hold together the best you can. To the brave men and women in uniform around the globe- I wish you the best of luck. Thank you."

* * *

_Stargate Command_

"So this is the gate address that would lead us to the Lost City?"

Daniel held the notepad in front of Weir and pointed out the symbols. "Proclarush Taonas At. It has to be."

Carter shook her head, then turned away from the computer console to face them. "We dialed this same address over two years ago, but we couldn't establish a wormhole."

"The gate must be buried," Daniel surmised. "Lost in fire."

"So the Lost City is really lost?"

"What we're looking for could still be there," Carter assured her. "I could use the address to calculate the planet's location in space, but we'll need a ship to get there."

"Prometheus," Daniel suggested.

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Weir told him. "With Anubis on his way, _Prometheus_ may be our last line of defence."

"But this is important! This is the key to a successful defence of Earth!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor Jackson."

"Maybe Teal'c has something we can use," Carter suggested.

"Contact him," Weir ordered before she asked offhand, "Where's Colonel O'Neill?"

Daniel sighed before replying. "Packing."

* * *

_Chulak_

The tent flap opened, and a young Jaffa bearing the marking of Apophis stepped inside. He bowed. "I am Ronan."

"I knew your father," Bra'tac told him. "He was a true warrior."

He nodded slightly. "It is an honour." Bra'tac motioned for him to come forward, and he did, adding, "I have a ship at my disposal."

"So we have heard," Teal'c said neutrally from beside Bra'tac.

"Forgive me, but as brave as you are, you cannot possibly hope to defeat the whole of Anubis' forces with just one ship. I have seen the extent of his forces."

"We only wish to use your ship to help us find something much more powerful," Bra'tac assured him.

Teal'c elaborated, "Something that we believe would defeat Anubis once and for all."

"If that is true then I will join you." Ronan paused. "That is my only condition… I am a fine pilot."

Smiling very slightly, Teal'c replied, "So we have heard."

* * *

_Stargate Command_

Elizabeth Weir surveyed the messy embarkation room. Cases and bins containing various items of miscellaneous equipment were stacked around the room, with the MALP already loaded up and several airmen standing by to carry things through the gate.

One of the blast doors slid open and the four members of SG-1 arrived, each carrying a huge backpack in addition to their usual combat load and wheeling a large container in front of them. In front of them, the stargate began to dial.

"Well, have you got everything you need? I think there's still a sink left in the kitchen," Weir quipped.

"Was that a joke?" O'Neill asked in mock surprise- or was it real surprise?

"A bad one, perhaps." The stargate was on the fifth chevron, which Walter quickly announced.

"Yes, very bad. But I sense hope for you."

She turned serious. "Well, I hope for all of us that you find what you're looking for, Colonel."

"Thank you," O'Neill replied, before turning and leading his team through the now-open wormhole.

* * *

_Kremlin_

Like its counterpart halfway across the globe, the Kremlin also had a secure bunker for its senior staff. Unlike its counterpart, this one was built in case of nuclear war, the latest in a long line of contingency planning originally conceived by Stalin before the first atom bomb was even dropped. The President of Russia occupied the bunker, along with his senior command staff. Underground cables allowed them to communicate with their armies, missile sites, and the White House on the other side of the world.

The news was not good. One of the technicians, a lieutenant in the Russian Air Force, told the President, "Sir, we have just picked up three unidentified contacts on space-based radar. They are currently passing the moon and decelerating."

"Goa'uld motherships," a large, greying man sitting beside the President told him. He wore the three stars of a Colonel and a uniform of the Russian Air Force. He was Colonel Chekov, the closest thing Russia had to an expert on Stargate operations. "They call them Ha'tak."

"Motherships? Are those like carriers?"

"In a way, sir. They are more like our own than the American ones- heavily armed in addition to carrying fighters. Do not underestimate the threat- the fighters are poorly armed but fast and manoeuvrable and the motherships are heavily armed and shielded. We know they can withstand nuclear weapons fire."

"Alert all military forces," the Russian President ordered. "Inform that that we are about to be invaded. Colonel, what is that status of the Oniks system?"

"Unarmed but ready, sir."

"Activate it and prepare for orbital interception."

* * *

_White House_

"Mister President, we managed to contact the Captain of the Arleigh Burke, a destroyer in the Nimitz battlegroup," General Maynard announced. "I think you should hear this, sir."

He activated a loudspeaker, piping through the transmission. "-repeat, some sort of beam just came out of the sky, there wasn't any warning but the entire carrier just went up in one big fireball."

There was a pause, during which they could hear frenzied shouts and explosions. "Holy- another cruiser just blew up! Where's that coming from- what the-"

The transmission faded to garbled static, but they didn't have time to dwell on it. A Senior Airman on one of the consoles turned around and shouted, "Sir, we are picking up nuclear detonations!"

"See if you can raise that destroyer!" the President ordered. "Where are those nukes coming from?"

"In orbit, sir, in orbit! Confirm at least five high-yield nuclear detonations in geosynchronous orbit. We've lost most of our satellite-based communications, reconnaissance satellites are not responding."

"What the fuck was that?" Maynard questioned.

"It's got to be the Russians," General Jumper told them. "They're the only nation we know of with that kind of capability."

"Did it work?" Hayes asked. "Were the motherships destroyed?"

"We're working on that, sir!"

"Sir, I've re-established contact with the Arleigh Burke! Captain Thornhill is on the line."

"Put him back on!"

President Hayes picked up the phone. "Captain, what is your status?"

"It just stopped, Mister President! There was this massive flash in the sky, a nuke, probably, and the attack stopped. It looks like the sky's on fire but we seem to be in clear, sir."

"Sir, telemetry just confirmed two Ha'tak obliterated beyond recognition, one more heavily damaged and disabled."

"Thank you, Captain."

"I think we won, sir."

"The battle, maybe, but not the war," Hayes said, exhaling. "The damn Russians tipped our hand for us. We've only put off the inevitable. Anubis knows we don't have that weapon now. He's going to crush us flat."

He turned to Jumper. "Any word from SG-1?"

"No, sir."

"Prepare all of our own orbital interception systems for immediate deployment. Let's hope they get that weapon before we have to use them."

* * *

_Cargo Ship_

Carter went to check on O'Neill about half an hour after he made a cryptic comment about needing to go faster and disappeared into the rear compartment. She found all the access panels open with O'Neill shoving a purple-coloured crystal into one of the racks. He stood up. "Give me your zat."

She removed the Goa'uld sidearm from a holster affixed to her armoured thigh. The Colonel took it and shot the collection of crystals once. The hum of the engines increased in tone and volume, and there was a noticeable jerk as the ship accelerated.

He handed the zat back. "There you go."

Quietly, Carter told him, "Sir, I think you should know that General Hammond authorized me to take command of the team if I determined it-"

"Do it now," O'Neill ordered.

"Sir, I don't think that's necessary-"

"I trust you," the Colonel assured. "I'll make it easy for you. I resign. You're in charge."

"Okay," Sam replied. She paused. "Sir, at your house before Daniel and Teal'c showed up, what I was gonna say was..."

She took a deep breath. "I- I just- I wish things could have been different. Between us. I still-"

"I know," Jack replied quietly, gently interrupting her. "Me too."

* * *

_White House_

"Sir, a Goa'uld fleet just dropped out of hyperspace," General Jumper reported, holding a phone receiver in one hand. "Our observation assets are limited at this time, but current estimates put the strength of the force at several dozen capital ships."

"What are our options, John?" the President asked, rubbing his sweat-covered temples.

"We can deploy our Hydra and Minuteman-Four systems immediately, but they will likely not destroy-"

"Mister President, a hologram just appeared in the Oval Office!"

"What- give me a security camera feed!" Hayes ordered. The technician complied, and moments later one of the large monitors was displaying a live feed from the Oval Office above. Standing in the centre of the room was a figure in dark hooded robes.

"I am Anubis," the figure proclaimed. "Where is the leader of this world?"

"Put me on speaker." The tech handed Hayes a phone, and he gingerly put it to his head. The room went quiet. "Henry Hayes, President of the United States of America. One nation among many."

"No more. Bow before your god."

Henry Hayes was terrified, not because of the hologram's presence but what it represented. But he wasn't going to let that show. He couldn't. Feigning amusement, he chuckled. "I don't think so. However, I am willing to discuss _your_ surrender."

"If you possessed weapons matching mine you would have used them."

"We're just getting started. Don't let our appearance fool you, we're gonna fight."

"You bring destruction upon yourselves," Anubis insisted.

"Never going to happen."

The hologram faded away, and Hayes glanced around the room. "Too much?"

The room suddenly exploded in a renewed flurry of activity. "Sir, they're launching fighters- counting hundreds- thousands!"

"Reading high-energy discharges- they're beginning orbital bombardment! They're targeting major cities- New York, Tokyo-"

"Mister President!" General Jumper raised his voice over the din. "I recommend we return fire with all available orbital interception assets!"

"Do it! I give the order!" Hayes replied frantically. "Inform all our forces that the battle has begun!"

"And Prometheus, sir?"

"Launch it, launch it now!"

"Sir, what about the Chinese!" the National Security Advisor interrupted. "They could take this as an attack-"

"Their cities are being bombed, their country is being invaded!" Jumper retorted. "With all due respect, ma'am, if the Chinese launch on us, it might not matter anyway."

"He called our bluff, and we're throwing all our chips in." President Hayes said, struggling to regain his composure. "Let's just hope SG-1 gets that weapon while there's still an Earth left to save."

* * *

_Goa'uld Flagship_

"My lord, detecting multiple small craft approaching the fleet. They number in the hundreds."

"Order all Death Gliders to intercept," Anubis responded. The Tau'ri would not give up without a fight- but he already knew that. Some of his own forces would inevitably be lost, but he already knew that too.

The invasion fleet carried a significant number of the small fighters, and almost all of them turned and closed with the incoming craft. The incoming craft, however, were not Earth fighters but missiles. Some were simple ballistic missiles that didn't even have enough range to reach the fleet. Several of them, however, were recently developed systems designed specifically to intercept and destroy Goa'uld capital ships. They slowly inched ahead of their adapted cousins.

As soon as they were within range, the squadrons of Death Gliders opened fire. Though powerful, their staff cannons were ill-suited to downing fast-moving missiles. Even still, they were able to destroy a third of the missiles launched from the planet below. The fact that despite taking casualties, the Tau'ri force simply continued baffled the pilots until they realized that they were not up against fighters. For many of them, the realization came too late. The decoy missiles began to detonate, wiping out entire wings of Death Gliders.

Coming around, the remaining Gliders continued to engage the inbound missiles, though they were more hesitant and careful. With the missiles rapidly closing in on them, the Ha'tak motherships of Anubis' fleet opened fire with their primary energy cannons. They were not point-defence weapons but ship-to-ship ones, slow to fire, slow to track, and not accurate enough to pick off small targets at range. Even still, the fearsome volley of firepower destroyed all but twenty of the Earth-launched weapons in addition to collateral damage against Death Gliders.

A brilliant nuclear explosion appeared like a second sun in the sky for a brief moment, before it was joined by nineteen others. The massive detonations hammered hard against the shields of Anubis' fleet, with some of the energy leaking through to smash and melt hulls. The brilliant light quickly receded, revealing a crippled, but still capable fleet. Four ships had been destroyed and another five crippled, with the rest receiving various degrees of damage.

"My lord, I am receiving reports of damage to our fleet," the First Prime of Anubis reported. "We have lost seven ships in total. The Tau'ri do not appear to be preparing to fire the Ancient weapon again-"

"You fool," Anubis snorted. "This is a crude weapon built by the Tau'ri, not a weapon of the Ancients. If it were the weapon I seek then we would not be here any longer."

* * *

_Cargo Ship_

"Well, this doesn't look good."

They had dropped out of hyperspace above the planet, which was a deep crimson red. The system's star was the same colour. Sensor readouts showed that the planet was almost entirely covered by lava floes, its atmosphere was toxic and there was no plant or animal life present. It was, in a word, dead.

"How could there have ever been a civilization here?" Daniel asked.

"A star becomes a red giant like this near the end of its life," Carter explained. "A million years ago this planet may have looked very much like Earth."

"So we're a million years too late?"

"Probably more."

"What?" O'Neill asked from behind them. "Don't look at me. I don't even know why we're here."

"Colonel, sit down and take a look," Carter suggested. He looked perplexed, and she appended, "That's an order, sir."

Both O'Neill and Teal'c raised an eyebrow, and she gulped, astounded at what she did. Before anyone could say anything, Bra'tac stood up and allowed the Colonel to take his place. A holographic overlay appeared over the window, highlighting a certain region of the planet. "Taonas."

"Sir?" Carter asked.

"What?"

"You looked at the screen and said, Taonas," Daniel told him.

"If you say so."

Carter's trained eyes scanned the readout. "There's a small anomaly on the surface here. Like a bubble."

"Is it a cavern?" Bra'tac asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's too regular to be natural. It's a perfect half-sphere of molten rock."

"Perhaps a forcefield meant to protect a city was covered over," Ronan suggested.

"Too small to have a city in there. And we aren't getting any energy readings from it."

"Perhaps the shield has since failed," Teal'c mentioned.

"We should still check it out," Carter concluded. She pointed out a spot on the diagram. "It looks like the crust is thin enough here to penetrate with the rings. Bra'tac, bring us in close."

The old Jaffa nodded before switching with O'Neill and taking control again. Carter led SG-1 back into the cargo area as the ship began to accelerate.

Major Carter pulled on her tactical vest and zipped it up over her suit, quickly checking to make sure she hadn't lost anything. Her Mark 23 pistol was already strapped to her leg, as was her zat and combat knife. She slung her main weapon, an FN FAL. Last to go on was her helmet, which locked to the neck seals on her suit with a reassuring snap. As the other members did the same, she ordered, "Check your hardseal. The planet is a high radiation zone and the atmosphere is heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals."

"Sounds like a nice place to visit," Daniel commented wryly after putting on his own helmet.

"I am ready, Major Carter," Bra'tac announced from the front of the ship.

"Everyone ready?" Carter asked, and received nods from her teammates. "Ring us down, Bra'tac."

* * *

_Proclarush Taonas_

SG-1 materialized under the dome, on a rough, rocky ground. Debris and jutting pieces of rock lined the area, combining with the haze and red lighting to give the place an overall disconcerting appearance.

"Can you still hear us?" Ronan asked over their communications link.

"That's affirm," Carter replied.

"We will move a safe distance and return on your signal," Bra'tac announced.

"Acknowledged." With that, they moved out to explore the ruins.

"The radiation level is pretty high," Carter mentioned, scanning the readouts on her HUD. "The air is contaminated with sulfur compounds with elevated levels of carbon dioxide. Surface temperature is... forty-five degrees."

"I believe Ronan was correct," Teal'c commented. "It seems a shield once protected this structure."

"It's possible the rings compromised the dome's integrity," Carter added. "We shouldn't stay too long."

"Too bad," Daniel commented wryly. "Otherwise, it's very pleasant."

They followed O'Neill, who silently led them through the maze of rocky stalagmites towards a small but clearly Ancient structure. It was mostly buried, with little in the way of recognizable walls, and nothing protecting its entrance. In the centre was a slightly raised pedestal with a chair or throne mounted on it.

"Architecture definitely indicates this was built by the Ancients," Daniel confirmed as they entered the structure.

Teal'c added, "This facility does not appear operational."

"I don't know about you guys," Carter said, "But right now I'm kinda hoping this isn't the Lost City."

O'Neill paid them no heed, continuing to walk toward the throne in the centre of the room. She cautioned him, "Sir, be careful."

He sat down, and the device immediately lit up. Slowly, he lowered one of his gloved hands into a gel-like surface on one of the armrests. Seconds later, a half-spherical force-field rose up around them. He removed his helmet.

"The atmosphere is safe," Carter confirmed, but didn't remove her own. If she did, she wouldn't be able to view the readouts from her suit's sensors.

O'Neill continued to manipulate the surface, although the real commands were being relayed with his thoughts, not by physical controls. The chair reclined, and a holographic map of the galaxy appeared over their heads.

"It looks like every planet the Ancients ever colonized is indicated here," Daniel noted. He pointed at one of the dots. "This is where we are. Proclarush."

The projection changed to a simplified display of a star system. Carter immediately recognized it. "That's our solar system."

It zoomed into a specific planet. "Earth."

"That does not appear to be Earth," Teal'c said.

"It's because it doesn't take into account thirty million years of continental drift," Daniel explained.

"Sir, why are you showing us this?" Carter asked.

In a deep tone unusual for the man, he uttered slowly, "Terra... Atlantis."

"Terra is Earth, Atlantis is..." Daniel muttered. The projection slowly moved to pinpoint a specific part of the globe. He pointed to it. "Jack, are you saying the Lost City of the Ancients is here? Antarctica?"

"Subo glacias."

"Under the ice?" Daniel asked, semi-rhetorically. "The city we've been looking for is under the ice of Antarctica."

"It's been on Earth the whole time?" Carter questioned. "Sir, we were just there! Did we come all this way just to find out we have to go all the way back?"

"No," O'Neill snapped. He pressed into the gel again, and the chair snapped back to its upright position. He locked his helmet back down and stood up, moving toward the edge of the platform. A wave of his hand revealed a hidden compartment, with a brightly glowing crystal that slowly rose out of it. He grabbed it and pulled it out, severing power to the forcefield as soon as it was removed.

Carter took it from his hands and briefly examined the device before stowing it in her small backpack. She commented. "Power source."

The dome began to destabilize as soon as power was removed. The room began to shake ominously, and a loud rumbling sound could be heard from outside as dust filled the already hazy air. Carter immediately began leading them back to the ring site, conveniently marked by a directional indicator on her HUD. She keyed the comm system. "Bra'tac, we're on our way. We know the location of the Lost City. It's on Earth."

"Understood, Major Carter," was the curt response.

They hurried back to the landing site as the dome literally came down around them. A pile of crushed rock fell on Daniel, and Teal'c quickly pulled him back up. Carter keyed her comm system again. "Bra'tac, what's happening up there?"

More debris continued to rain down, and the rings were still nowhere to be seen. For what seemed like an eternity, but was less than a minute, they stood out in the open, relying on their armour and quick reflexes to protect them from falling debris. She frantically shouted, "Bra'tac, the dome is collapsing!"

Seconds before the dome collapsed completely, the rings finally dropped down and SG-1 disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

_Cargo Ship_

As soon as they materialized, they realized something was wrong.

Both of the Jaffa were lying on the floor, with a pair of bloody knives dropped beside them. Ronan, the one who owned the ship, was dead- Carter confirmed it by checking his pulse. Bra'tac was still alive, but badly injured. He managed to whisper, "Ronan…was an agent of…Anubis."

Teal'c knelt beside his old master and grasped his hand. "Save your strength, old friend."

"You know that I am stubborn, Teal'c," Bra'tac said weakly, "But this battle I fear I cannot win."

Silently, O'Neill moved to the dying Jaffa's side. He gingerly placed a hand over the wound and shut his eyes tight in concentration. As the wound began to heal, Bra'tac muttered, "The pain is fading."

The act of healing took all the energy out of O'Neill, and Daniel caught him before he dropped to the floor. "Jack!"

Bra'tac shared a look with the equally astounded O'Neill. "Once more I am in your debt."

"But how?" Carter asked.

"Colonel O'Neill must possess the healing power of the Ancients," Teal'c replied.

"Guess your condition is a little more advanced than last time," Daniel mentioned, receiving a weak nod in reply.

* * *

_White House_

"Initial reports are sporadic and unreliable, but we're starting to put together what's going on."

"Let's hear it, John," President Hayes replied wearily.

"Parts of Anubis' fleet have detached and landed on Earth. We have confirmed one Goa'uld mothership near Los Angeles, one in Colorado, and one in New York State. We suspect there have been at least three landings in Europe, two in Russia, two in China, as well as one in Egypt and one more within North America. Those motherships are currently engaged in troop landing operations.

"Contact was made with our own troops just under an hour ago," General Maynard reported. "The 3rd Cavalry, 4th Infantry, and 1st Armoured, have made contract with the enemy and are currently keeping them away from the SGC and Area 51. All available Army and Marines units have been deployed around key areas. Reports are coming in of fighting in and outside of several major population centres, including LA and NY."

General Jumper continued, "The Air Force and naval aviation units have engaged Goa'uld fighters since they entered the atmosphere. Plane-for-plane, we're better once they get within range, but we're running out of missiles, planes, and pilots. Our capacity to maintain air superiority is severely depleted and will be gone in a matter of hours."

"Orbital bombardment?" the President asked.

Grimly, the Air Force General replied, "Yes, sir. They are bombarding our cities from orbit. That's the closest thing we have to good news."

"Good news? If that's the good news, I'm not sure if I want to know what the bad news is."

"Anubis is focusing on population centres. Our cities are being destroyed across the country, but most of our military infrastructure, as well as our strategic strike capability, is still intact. The Navy, apart from initial strikes on the Nimitz and John F. Kennedy battlegroups, has been left largely untouched and is providing-"

"How many?" Hayes asked quietly.

The two generals shared a look before General Jumper replied grimly, "Any estimate at this point would be a wild guess, sir, but we're looking at the millions."

"My god," the President breathed.

"It seems that Anubis is deliberately avoiding attacking world capitals," General Jumper added slowly. "Beijing, Ottawa, and London are confirmed to be under heavy attack, but Berlin, Paris, Moscow, and Washington appear to have left alone."

"That son of a bitch," the President swore. "You know what he's doing? He wants the leaders of Earth to watch as he destroys our planet city by city. The sadistic bastard doesn't want to exterminate us, or even enslave us. He wants to dominate us, fuck us over as hard as possible before he takes control."

He paused. "What about the rest of the world? How are they doing?"

"Intelligence is sporadic at best," General Maynard replied. "Our own units in Japan and Germany are fighting hard against invasions in both countries- we know there's at least one, maybe two, motherships in Europe, but we still do not know the scope of the invasion of Japan. Communications with London ceased about forty minutes ago and SOSUS has picked up their missile subs moving at high speed towards either Canada or the United States, so it can be assumed that they have opened their final orders and that the British chain of command is compromised. The Russian military has deployed and appears to be having at least some success against the invasion, and there is heavy fighting in China."

"World War Three," Hayes muttered. "Never thought it would be an alien invasion- hoped it would never happen. Thought that we could reach an agreement, or pull off something close to a win. At least we're going to put up a hell of a fight-"

"Yes, sir. I-"

"Sir, there's a call for you from the SGC," an aide interrupted. He handed the President a phone. "Doctor Weir is on the line."

He took the phone. "Doctor Weir, as of this moment Anubis' Jaffa are pushing toward the SGC, and our cities are being bombarded from orbit, so please make this as quick as possible."

* * *

_Stargate Command_

"Sorry, Mister President." Weir cut straight to the point. "We've received a message from SG-1. They've found the Lost City and are on their way with an Ancient weapon. We know Prometheus can't win against an entire Goa'uld fleet, but it might be able to buy SG-1 enough time to complete their mission."

As she was speaking, Kinsey entered her office. "Mr. President, that is downright insane. I am relieving Dr. Weir and taking command of-"

Weir ignored him. "Sir, from what I've looked at-"

"Would you shut the hell up!" President Hayes shouted.

Deflated, she apologized quietly, "I'm sorry, sir."

"Not you, Doctor," the President clarified. "Consider your resignation accepted, Bob."

"You can't do that!" Kinsey objected.

"Oh please. I've got enough on you to have you shot. We're at war. Now I'm not accusing you of anything, but some people are going to see what you're doing as treason."

"This is the biggest mistake you'll ever make. I promise you will only live to regret this!"

"Well, that's awfully optimistic of him," Hayes said darkly as Kinsey stormed out of the room. "Go ahead, Doctor Weir."

"I believe, sir, sending Prometheus to cover SG-1 is our best hope."

* * *

_Cargo Ship_

"Jack's modifying the matter stream transmitter on the rings," Daniel reported, stepping into the cockpit of the cargo ship. "I think we're going to use it to bore a hole through the ice."

"We must first defeat the forces of Anubis," Teal'c told him.

"Yeah, how are we gonna do that?"

"One must exit hyperspace as close to the Earth's atmosphere as possible," Bra'tac explained. "There will not be much time to decelerate."

Seconds later, they emerged from hyperspace, still at tremendous, if subluminal, velocity. The ship quickly passed through the fields of space junk and began entering the atmosphere.

"Teal'c?" Daniel called as the ship shuddered around them. "Teal'c, you're gonna pull up, right?"

They continued to descend, now through the outer layers of the atmosphere and passing the cloud layer. "I am attempting to do so."

Finally, barely a thousand feet from the ground, the ship lurched again, pulling out of its steep dive and entering a far more stable, level flight. Teal'c turned to O'Neill. "Where now?"

"It has to be near the coordinates where we found the second Stargate," Daniel said as the Colonel switched with Teal'c. The ship accelerated again, coming to rest just above a spot in the middle of a flat plain of ice. O'Neill activated the ring transporter, but instead of a set of rings, a brilliant blue beam came down and began melting away the ice.

"Sir, how long is this going to take?" Carter asked, but received no reply. O'Neill got up and silently left, moving into the rear compartment.

"Anubis cannot have missed our arrival," Teal'c stated.

"You are correct," Bra'tac confirmed. "Al'kesh and gliders approach. Many. They will be in firing range in thirty seconds."

He paused. "More ships approaching from the opposite direction."

"Jack, we're about to-"

"Wait!" Carter interrupted. She peered out the front window, squinting. "Those are ours!"

_USAF Prometheus_

"Open fire, all batteries, order all 302s to commence their attack," General Hammond ordered from the command chair. "Defend that ship at all costs."

The Earth-built starship came to rest above the cargo ship, using its shields to protect the smaller ship. Railgun fire streaked toward the incoming wave of Death Gliders and Al'kesh. Above them, the F-302s opened fire, launching a barrage of missiles. Several of the Goa'uld ships went down before the opposing fighters tangled, turning it into a high-speed, high-stakes dogfight.

Hammond keyed the communications system. "SG-1, this is Hammond, do you read?"

_Cargo Ship_

"Yes, sir, it's good to see you!" Carter replied happily. She turned to her team. "Let's go."

In the rear compartment, O'Neill finished removing the last trace of his ring transporter modifications. The rest of SG-1 quickly threw on their vests and grabbed their weapons before putting on their helmets. As she racked the charging handle on her weapon, she asked, "Colonel, how are we going to get down there?"

"The rings," Teal'c surmised.

"Makes sense," Daniel elaborated. "The Ancients built the Stargate so there must be a set of rings to get us down there somewhere."

"The transmission beams just couldn't penetrate a mile of ice," Carter finished. Beside her, O'Neill cleared the last pieces of junk from around the rings and moved inside them. SG-1 took positions beside him, and Carter shouted to Bra'tac, "We're ready."

"Good luck," the old Jaffa said before activating the rings.

_USAF Prometheus_

The starship shuddered as energy blasts began to rain down from orbit. Major Gant shouted, "Sir, the cargo ship has cleared the hole."

"Shields are failing!" Colonel Kirkland shouted. "All remaining F-302's have expended their ordnance."

"We can't take them back aboard," Hammond replied, "They'll have to divert to McMurdo."

"We need to break off and recharge the shields," Kirkland insisted.

"No! Set a course for Anubis' mothership," the General ordered. "Full military thrust."

"Bring main engines online, emergency thrust," Kirkland echoed, a hint of reluctance in his voice.

_Ancient Outpost_

The team emerged in an iced-over cavern, supported by pillars of clearly Ancient design. It was larger than the outpost on Proclarush, and in better condition. There were several alcoves cut into the walls, with partial walls separating the ring platform area from the chair on its pedestal.

"This looks vaguely familiar," Carter remarked.

Instead of heading straight for the chair, O'Neill headed for one of the wall alcoves. He leaned against it and muttered, "Dormata."

"Sleep," Daniel translated.

With its characteristic high-pitched whine, a hologram of Anubis appeared between them and the chair. They immediately trained their weapons at it. Smugly, the gravelly voice of the half-ascended Goa'uld told them, "You are too late. The power of the Ancients is mine."

O'Neill looked at the hologram for a moment before striding forward, then putting his arm through the hologram before stepping through. Before it disappeared, the Anubis hologram shouted, "Fools!"

He continued forward, kneeling down near the edge of the pedestal. He waved his hand over the surface, and just like on Proclarush, a large crystal, this one dark, slid upwards out of the whole. Carter hurried forward, unslinging her backpack and removing the device they had retrieved earlier. She handed it to O'Neill before the rings activated again.

As the Colonel inserted the device, Carter hurried to take a defensive position, switching on a Kull Disruptor unit mounted to the side of her M240. Teal'c and Daniel followed her lead, taking cover and readying their weapons.

Two Kull Warriors stepped off the ring platform and both sides immediately opened fire. Energy blasts slammed into the Ancient architecture SG-1 was taking cover behind while disruptor-charged bullets hammered the new arrivals. They quickly went down, but a larger group, mixed with Jaffa, arrived to take their place.

Carter unleashed a long burst from her machine gun, ripping into the Jaffa and the tougher supersoldiers. As a third wave ringed down behind them, she shouted, "Sir, whatever you're going to do, do it fast!"

Colonel O'Neill sat down in the chair, which immediately lit up and reclined backwards. With a thought that was as much instinct as conscious effort, he brought the Ancient weapon system online. The chair was bathed in bright light, and a hole tore open in the icy floor before a nearly-solid stream of small yellow projectiles streamed from it. A few of them enveloped the Kull Warriors and Jaffa, with the rest continuing out of the hole they drilled toward the Goa'uld fleet far above.

_USAF Prometheus_

The starship continued to shudder as it took the brunt of the continued bombardment. Explosions were visible on the hull where the energy blasts hit.

"Shields are down," Major Gant reported. "All weapons are expended."

"The next hit's gonna take us out," Kirkland stated.

"Hold your course," Hammond insisted. "Brace for collision. If we go, they go."

They continued on their suicidal course for a few seconds before Gant frantically reported, "Weapons fire coming from the surface, sir!"

Hammond was determined, but not completely insane. "Break off course! Get us clear!"

_Anubis' Flagship_

The golden streams split above Earth orbit, with some of the projectiles ripping through the Ha'tak vessels that made up the majority of Anubis' fleet. The rest continued straight toward his flagship. They shredded the outer hull and began tearing away at the structure and critical systems of the ship.

"Our shields are of no use!" the First Prime shouted as the defenceless vessel took heavy damage.

Anubis let out a colossal scream of pure rage before the starship was completely destroyed by the catastrophic detonation of its main reactor.

* * *

_Ancient Outpost_

The glow faded as the system shut down, but Colonel O'Neill did not move. His eyes were shut and his head was lolled to one side. Sam rushed to his side and gently removed his helmet. "Sir... sir!"

"His pulse is erratic," she told Daniel and Teal'c before turning back to the Colonel. "Don't you dare leave us now. We won."

Jack's eyes opened lazily, and his head moved slightly. Sam immediately grasped his chin. "Colonel!"

"Please, Jack," she begged desperately.

He managed a single quiet word in reply. "Dormata."

"That thing," Daniel whispered.

Gently, Sam lifted Jack out of the chair, supporting him on her shoulders. She carried him over to the device before placing him back-first into it, slowly letting go once he was leaned against its surface. As she stepped back, the alcove lit up.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Aveo... amacus," Jack whispered.

"Goodbye, my friends," Daniel quietly translated. Seconds later, the alcove lit up, and Jack was enveloped in a translucent solid. Slowly, the device went dark again.

"We can't just leave him like this! There has to be a way to reverse the process. The answer has to be here somewhere."

Daniel shook his head sadly. "I don't think this is it, Sam."

"What do you mean?"

"The dome is too small," Daniel stated. "It's like Taonas. This isn't a city, it's just an outpost of some kind."

"It's not Atlantis," Sam echoed, half-question, half-statement.

"No, I don't think so."

"If this is not the lost city, then where is it?" Teal'c asked.

* * *

_White House_

"Thousands of bright yellow…I don't know…They're coming from the surface. I don't know what they are," a voice crackled over the live feed. "They're cutting the enemy fleet to shreds. My god, it's beautiful!"

The feed switched to another one, this one from Los Angeles. "They're pulling back- they're on the defensive! We've got 'em on the run! Push forward!"

From Moscow, "_Oni otkhodili ! Oni poteryalivolyu k borʹbe! Tolchok vpered, tovarishchi, ubitʹ vsekh zakhvatchikov!_"

The news from Paris was much the same, "_Ils ont cessé de se battre. Je pense qu'ils vont se rendre. Je ne peux pas y croire, nous avons gagné!_"

As it was from Tokyo, "_Karera wa kōfukudeari, tatakai wa owatta! Sorera no watashitachi no shūjin o kakunin shimasu._"

Beijing, "_Tāmen lāle huílái, fàngxià tāmen de wǔqì! Pāi tāmen! Shāle tāmen!_"

And Jerusalem, "_S__h lnv vtm vmnvsh tn lhm shvm hrv'vn, lngv vtm hdmh shlnv!_"

"Reports are coming in from around the globe, sir," General Jumper summarized. "Orbital bombardment has ceased and reinforcements have stopped coming in. All Goa'uld motherships, including those that have landed, have been destroyed. Remaining Jaffa on the ground are either surrendering or fighting defensively and desperately."

"We won, Mister President," General Maynard said quietly. "It's over."

President Henry Hayes shook his head. "No. It's only begun."


	3. 1x03 New Order 1

**The White House**

With the immediate threat gone, the President and his staff went into damage control mode. Although severe communications problems prevented him from knowing for sure, Hayes was sure the majority of the world's population was both very angry and very scared.

He gingerly lit the cigarette in his mouth. The sitting President wasn't a smoker, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It calmed him down slightly, and he quietly asked, "Are the reports coming in yet? How bad is it?"

General Jumper motioned toward a map positioned on a table. It showed most of North America, including the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Several areas had red, orange, or blue X's drawn over them, and some had green circles. He pointed them out. "Red means severely damaged by orbital bombardment. Orange means damaged by orbital bombardment and invaded by ground forces. Blue is ground forces only."

"And the green circles?" Hayes took another puff on the cigarette, suppressing a cough. He wasn't used to the cancer sticks at all.

"Unknown status, Mister President."

The President traced the symbols with his finger. "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA, Denver, Houston... my God."

"We're still not sure of the extent of the damage, but the current death toll is in the millions, sir."

"Just for the United States?"

"Yes, sir," the General replied grimly.

Henry Hayes fought the overwhelming need to weep at the destruction. They needed a leader, he had to be strong. Instead, he took another long drag of tobacco smoke from nervous fingers. "Internationally?"

General Jumper shook his head. "Communications are still down for the most part, sir. Between the nukes and the Goa'uld ships, our satellites have almost been wiped out. As far as we can tell, the majority of our underwater cables are still intact, but the ground stations have either been blown to pieces or we can't get to them."

He took a deep breath. "We have been able to make estimates. The lowest ones are in the tens of millions, high estimates exceed the billion mark. Best guess is one or two hundred million."

Hayes was silent for a moment. He tossed his cigarette into an ashtray and lit up another, taking a long drag before ordering, "Get those lines of communications back up as soon as possible."

"We're already working on it, sir," the General assured him.

"Good." Another puff of smoke. "What about the people who are still alive? What's their situation?"

"Infrastructure took a huge hit throughout the country. Several major centres do not have electricity or running water, or sporadic supplies. There have already been runs on what supplies are left. In some areas, fires are burning uncontrollably. Hospitals are full of the wounded and medical supplies are running short. In many cases people are ignoring the law or taking it into their own hands. The National Guard is currently trying to keep order and provide humanitarian aid. Goa'uld stragglers are complicating that mission."

"We still have a lot of undamaged cities. Can't we divert resources?"

"We're trying, sir, but transportation is becoming an issue. Highways and airports are bombed out and communication blackouts are hampering the chain of command."

He paused and reassured the President, "Sir, I'm sure we can pull through the immediate situation. I think it's time we start to consider long-term consequences."

"I was thinking the same thing, John." President Hayes took another drag on his cigarette. "We're headed for one hell of a crisis. Where's SecTreas?"

"On a trip to Wall Street. At this point we're assuming he was killed in the attack."

"God damn it!" Hayes swore. "All right, we need to freeze stocks, wages, prices, freeze everything before it comes crashing down on top of us. We can't deal with an economic depression."

He took another drag. "I- we can't do this alone. We- the humans of Earth, we have to do this together. We're gonna need the support of everyone, NATO, the Russians, the Chinese, hell, even the goddamn Norks. Make restoring those lines of communication our highest priority."

"Yes, sir."

"What kind of broadcast capabilities do we have left? Inside the US?"

"Just the Emergency Alert System, sir."

"Activate it. I need to get a message out, or we're going to have one hell of a panic on our hands."

"We might already, sir," General Jumper replied wryly.

* * *

**Stargate Command**

"...we're going to make it through, we're going to pull together. The attack was brutal, and the aftermath isn't going to be much better. I can only promise blood, sweat, toil, and tears. But I assure you personally that we're going to make those bastards pay. We're at war. This is only the beginning. We're trying our best to restore infrastructure and order, but for now, please stay calm and try to make do with what you have. Thank you, and good luck to you all."

"It's one hell of a mess, don't you think?" Weir asked, shutting off the TV.

"Well, that's more your purview than mine, Doctor Weir," Daniel Jackson replied.

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth. You have to understand that this was exactly the kind of the thing we were trying to avoid."

"An all-out invasion, or disclosure?" Elizabeth asked cynically.

"Both. The invasion was absolutely the last thing we wanted. The whole point of the SGC is to prevent an invasion from happening." Daniel sighed. "And we failed."

"You didn't fail," she quietly assured him. "The weapon in Antarctica worked. It destroyed Anubis' fleet. If you hadn't found that weapon, we would be far worse off. Earth as we know it might not even exist anymore."

"Still, millions dead, at least thousands more in the aftermath. The world is going to go crazy over this. I mean aliens, real aliens, space travel, everything we've feared or dreamed of, and it's real. Even if there was no attack, if everything was peaceful, the world still would have changed overnight."

"You can't possibly have expected to keep this secret forever," Elizabeth countered. "The chances of a secret getting out increase with the square of the number of people who know it."

"Who told you that?"

"An old friend of mine. Former CIA, if you believe it." She paused. "The moment I learned about the Stargate, I came to two conclusions. Disclosure was inevitable, and it wouldn't be easy."

"But you didn't expect it to be this bad?"

She shook her head. "No. I was hoping we could do it slow, clean, get everybody on board. Then we'd start being able to really get out there, have a presence in the galaxy. And the benefits to Earth, they're incredible. But in some ways, this is better."

"I'm sorry, better? Millions are dead, our cities are burning, our satellites are all gone!"

Elizabeth held up a hand. "I know. Believe me, this is as hard for me as it is for you. I'm still having trouble believing it. But there's no debate about the Goa'uld anymore. They attacked us, and everyone is going to want- demand action. Now that we know the threat is real, the nations of our planet are going to be a lot more inclined to work together."

"An alliance forged in the fires of war," Daniel muttered. He cleared his throat "As interesting as this conversation is, I have a more immediate request."

"Colonel O'Neill?"

He nodded. "We need to contact the Asgard, get help. We owe Jack that much. He sacrificed himself for this planet."

Seeing Elizabeth's hesitation, he added, "Jack is the man we need right now. He's a worldwide hero, which could make a huge difference to disclosure, and he's the key to using the Ancient weapon. We need him."

"I couldn't agree more," Elizabeth replied, "But at this point, there's not much I can do. You saw it yourself on your way in- it's a mess out there. I can't even contact the President. The chain of command is falling apart, and we still can't get a hold of half the world's governments."

"So the decision is yours," Daniel pressed. "You're the one in charge now."

"Unauthorized offworld activation!" Walter's voice shouted over the base's speakers.

They shared a look. "What the hell?"

By the time they reached the control room, the Stargate had already shut down. Walter informed them, "You just missed it. The wormhole was only open for about a minute."

"Did they send anything through?" Daniel asked.

"We received a message," Walter informed him. He brought up a page of Goa'uld text on one of the monitors. "You might want to see this, Doctor Jackson."

He quickly scanned the text. "Wow."

"What is it?" Weir asked.

"Sorry, it says he wants to arrange a meeting for the purpose of negotiating a treaty."

"A Goa'uld wants to arrange a treaty with us? Which one?"

"Not just one Goa'uld. All of them. The System Lords. They want to send representatives here."

* * *

**The White House**

"We've restored some communications, sir. I have the Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and North and South Korean governments all on the line and wanting to talk to you very badly."

President Hayes sighed before stubbing out his cigarette. It was the fifteenth- no, more than that. He had smoked so many that he had lost count. It was hell on his health, but that was the least of his concerns. "Russians first."

A technician handed him a phone, and he said, "Hello?"

The response was distorted and dropped out occasionally, but was understandable. "President Hayes. How are things in the West?"

"We're managing," Hayes replied, guarded. "A few of our cities have been damaged in the attack, but losses to our ground forces have been minimal so far."

"Do not coat things in sugar," the Russian snapped. "Several of you major cities have been destroyed. Millions of civilians are dead, millions more will die as your ability to provide food, water, and shelter had been ruined. Your ground forces, air force have been decimated."

"I know it's-"

The Russian President cut him off. "It is the same for us, and it is the same for almost every civilized nation in the world. We have been attacked! I do not wish for confrontation, in fact I believe we must work together now even more than ever before. That is why I wished to speak to you. To deliver a warning."

"I'm listening."

"Many blame the American government for what has happened today. Your people, my people, other governments, many around the world."

Hayes sighed. "I know. I've released statements, and we're doing everything we can to reassure the public. As soon as communications are restored-"

"I am not finished." His tone was strong, but not rude. "I believe we must work together to counter the threat, as one planet and one people."

"I thought _I_ was the idealist," Hayes said lightly. The quip eased the tension more than he thought it would.

"I am not saying we should all hold hands and sing. I am saying we need a formal alliance, one unified body to oppose external threats. An allied Earth, if you will. To prevent Stargate domination. Something more direct, higher in profile than what exists today."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Immediately he regretted the wording.

The Russian didn't mind. "I know. I also know that the United States of America will be heading such efforts. I wish to say that provided you are not entirely unreasonable, Russia will have your back."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

"Very well, Mister President. We will maintain communications."

The President put down the phone and attempted to take a drag from his cigarette, but it was entirely extinguished. He exchanged the phone with the one connected to the Chinese government.

"This is the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China." He was less expressive than the President, but his words had a very sharp edge to them. "The President is gone. Millions of our people are dead and many of our cities have been destroyed. Explain yourself!"

"I don't mean to be cocky, but the attack is not our fault," Hayes explained. "It's devastated us-"

"You are not in the same situation! The United States can respond to such an attack, but the People's Republic of China cannot in same way. We do not have an oversized army, or alien technology. Furthermore, it is you who provoked the Goa'uld, you who failed to stop the attack and you who failed to inform us in time to take defensive action."

"We did not provoke the Goa'uld. They are the aggressors here, and we have been trying to get rid of them for good for the last seven years-"

"Five of those during which you did not inform the People's Republic of China. You did not disclose all information, you refused the People's Republic of China access to captured technology, and you refused to have a team from the People's Republic of China. Therefore, it is your arrogance, and unwillingness to work with others that is to blame."

He had a point. Damn it, he had a very good point. The United States _had_ intentionally kept China out of the Stargate program. Hayes chose his words carefully. "While it is true that some of my predecessors have been less forthcoming in regards to the Stargate and the People's Republic of China, what's done is done. Furthermore, it is impossible to predict what effect your involvement would have had on the attack. I'm not saying that your nation is incompetent, but different actions could have delayed, accelerated, or had no effect on our situation at all."

"Or it could have stopped it. The People's Republic of China had no control, no power to do anything. We were relying entirely on your efforts, efforts which have clearly been ineffective."

"The efforts of SG-1 kept the Goa'uld attack from being much worse. I think we all owe them a debt of gratitude."

"One team. Part of a very small organization. The American government did not build fleets, or armies, they relied on one team. Tell me, is that not foolhardy?"

"They've proven successful in the past." Damn, this guy was good. "We simply did not have the resources to divert."

"Then disclose the program! You spend billions on your military each year, a small fraction of that went to the defence of our entire planet, instead building weapons to destroy your fellow man. But you feared that your people would panic, that you must keep the secret to avoid the destruction of your own nation. I think you cannot control you own people. You are afraid."

"Our government does not believe in controlling our people," Hayes replied cautiously. "We believe in freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of press."

"Perhaps that was an unwise choice."

"An unwise choice?" Hayes fumed. "With respect, Mister Premier, those are the very principles our country was built upon. We will not let fear compromise who we are."

"Then you should have allowed your people to choose for themselves," the Premier countered. "My only regret is that the People's Republic of China was foolish enough to cooperate with your scheme."

_Your people are going to have a lot more trouble dealing with the truth_, he didn't say. "I think you should know that we plan on forming a new alliance. One unified force against the Goa'uld. Fair and equal representation."

"We will consider membership." In closing, he added sarcastically, "Thank you for your time."

"Thank you." Hayes replied, his sarcasm more veiled. The line clicked off.

He sighed again and turned to the technician. "Who else, did you say?"

"The, uh- Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan."

* * *

**Stargate Command**

Elizabeth Weir paced in front of the three members of SG-1. Slowly, she began. "A lot has happened during the past few days. We still don't know the extent of the damage, and I still can't contact the President or the Pentagon."

She motioned towards one of the members. "Doctor Jackson has impressed upon me that it is critical we attempt to contact the Asgard, to revive Colonel O'Neill. The decision of whether to proceed with the mission fell to me. SG-1, you have a go. I'm still not sure of my decision"

"Thank you," Jackson replied, standing up.

She held up her hand, and the man sat back down. "Unfortunately, I can't let all of you go. Especially you, Doctor Jackson. I need you to assist with the negotiations with the System Lords. You know them better than anyone else. These negotiations could be critical to our survival."

She turned to the other two. "Major Carter and Teal'c will be taking the modified cargo ship to Ida. I understand this may be a one way trip."

"Well, the cargo ship may only be good for the distance there," Carter told her. "However, if we can make contact with the Asgard, that won't be a problem."

"I hope that happens, for your sakes, Colonel O'Neill's and everyone on Earth. The cargo ship is waiting just inside the entrance tunnel. Get geared up and head out. Good luck and godspeed."

She turned back to the archaeologist. "Let's get ready to greet our guests."

* * *

**The White House**

"Mister President, we still haven't been able to reach the British government, but communications with Cheyenne Mountain have been restored. Doctor Weir is on the line, sir."

"Thank you." President Hayes stubbed out his cigarette. "This is the President speaking."

"It's good to hear your voice, sir," Weir's voice crackled over the unsteady connection. "How bad is it out there, really?"

"Several of our major centres have been severely damaged, and a lot of our infrastructure, including roads, power lines, and communications are gone. We've been able to contact the Chinese, Japanese, Russian and both Korean governments. The Chinese hate us, the Japanese are oddly calm, the Russians are tense and the North and South are at each others throats. We still don't know what happened in Europe, but it doesn't look pretty."

"Casualties?"

"Millions. Probably a hundred souls."

Elizabeth Weir gasped. "Oh my God..."

"That's exactly what I said. This is going to sound grim so I'm only going to say it once. As people and as a nation, we need to move on. We need to save what's left."

"I heard the speech, sir."

"What did you think?"

"A little dramatic, but other than that, I think you did a good job all things considered."

"Glad you see it that way." Hayes paused, turning serious. "Half an hour ago, what's left of our radar, sensor and monitoring stations picked up what looked like a Goa'uld cargo ship leaving Earth orbit."

Weir's voice tensed slightly, but perceptibly. "Yes, sir. That was Major Carter and Teal'c, acting on my orders."

Hayes nodded. "Did you stop to consider the consequences? We may never be able to use that weapon again, and if we can't we need every advantage we can get. I understand that the cargo ship was modified using knowledge of the Ancients. Additionally, SG-1 are going to be world heroes. Their presence is going to be invaluable in presenting the Stargate to the public."

"Yes, sir, I considered that. Major Carter, a leader in her field, told me quite clearly that reverse-engineering the modifications to the cargo ship would take months if it was possibly at all. Colonel O'Neill may be the key to defending this planet again, and I judged that his presence- the presence of the entire SG-1 team- would be critical to disclosure. I had to make a quick decision on my own with imperfect information. I'm sorry, sir."

"Relax, Doctor, I'm not here to judge. I just hope you made the right decision, for all our sakes."

"Thank you, sir." She paused. "I should mention one more thing. The System Lords sent a message. They want to negotiate with us. I have prepared to receive them and act on my own authority, but since contact has been restored- "

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Hmm. Begin the negotiations. This sort of thing should be right up your alley."

"A little more than everything else that's happened, sir." A pause. "What's our stance, sir?"

"Don't give them an inch. An alliance may be beneficial, but we dictate the terms. We hold the cards. We have the Ancient weapon and a lot of pissed off people. Earth has massive armies and we are going to use them. It's a bluff in a lot of ways, and I sure as hell hope they don't call it."

"So, we're the ones making the demands from a position of power?"

"Exactly. Keep me in the loop. Hayes out." He handed the phone back and sighed before lighting up again.

* * *

**Stargate Command**

Unfortunately, due to the current situation, the reception was rather plain. Rather than an honour guard of Marines in full dress uniform, several Air Force SFs stood in combat fatigues carrying standard rifles. There was no band, and the gateroom was left plain.

Daniel Jackson fastened the watch to his wrist as he stood beside Elizabeth in the gateroom. Both were wearing the usual SGC uniform jacket and pants, Elizabeth having discarded her crumpled suit days ago. She commented, "I wish we were better prepared, and better dressed. I don't know what they're going to think of us."

"Receiving IDC," Walter called from the control room. "SG-3 reports we have a green light."

Elizabeth Weir took a deep breath. "Open the iris."

The iris slowly slid open, allowing the travellers through. The first arrival was an Asian-looking woman in a long, flowing dress. She was Amaterasu, the Shinto goddess of the sun, who, according to legend, passed down the sacred Imperial Regalia of Japan. In actuality, she was a fairly minor Goa'uld who once had a presence on Earth in Japan. She only had a few worlds, and her exact position was unknown, which meant it couldn't be very high. At least, not until now.

The second to come through was a tall, muscular man in drab brown boots, tunic, and what looked like leather armour. Camulus was the Celtic god of war, little known outside of a select few circles. He was often equated to Mars, but Mars was actually a different Goa'uld. They didn't know a lot about Camulus- he was another minor Goa'uld. Rumour had it he was in a precarious position, but they didn't know why.

The last to exit was Yu, accompanied by his First Prime. Yu was an enigma among the Goa'uld. He was one of the oldest, and, in Daniel's words, the "least evil". Yu was an emperor, not a god, although the exact distinction wasn't clear. He was less "evil" than most Goa'uld- though would be considered a fairly cruel dictator by Earth standards, compared to other Goa'uld he was practically a saint. His territory was fairly large, and hadn't changed significantly in a thousand years, showing little interest in expanding. Recently, however, Yu's mind had began to slip away, old age and senility taking its toll. Oshu, his First Prime, had been taking on more and more of his duties.

SG-3 followed behind them. They were heavily armed and fully armoured- a not-so-subtle warning to the Goa'uld. After they stepped through, the Stargate shut down behind them.

"Welcome to Earth," Weir greeted. "Allow me to introduce-"

Camulus rudely cut her off. "We are not interested in your name.

Weir cocked her head. "Really. I find it generally helps so much-"

This time it was Amaterasu. "We prefer to present our offer, so we can spend as brief a time as possible on this planet."

Weir raised an eyebrow, sharing a look with Daniel. She turned back to their guests and motioned toward one of the blast doors. "Right this way."

* * *

**Cargo Ship**

"Hey, Teal'c," Sam called, emerging into the front of the cargo ship. Like the last time, she was wearing her armour and sidearm, but no vest or helmet. She carried a pair of small brown packages in one hand. She held one up to Teal'c. "Can I get you anything? I packed lots of... MREs."

"Thank you, but I am not currently hungry," Teal'c replied.

Sam leaned against one of the chairs, tossing one of the packs aside before opening the other. "I don't blame you. These things are three lies for the price of one."

"Of what lies are you referring to?"

"It's not a meal, it's not ready, and you can't eat it." She removed a vacuum-sealed pouch containing a biscuit from the package, opened it and took a bite.

"Have you been able to determine how O'Neill modified the engines?" Teal'c asked.

She shook her head. "No. I'm just taking a break. I didn't think it would be easy, but at least it's a good way to pass the time. I'm sorry, have I been ignoring you?"

"I am fine."

Sam sighed. "I thought maybe working on the engines would help take my mind off Colonel O'Neill, which is kind of silly, considering he's the one who modified them. Look, I know this plan isn't exactly foolproof. I've never plotted an intergalactic course before."

"I have the utmost confidence in your ability."

"I know." She smiled. "So, you wanna talk?"

"Concerning what subject?"

"Well, a lot's happened," Sam began. "On Earth, I mean. It's our worst fears, all of them, come true. The Stargate is out the in open now, we've been attacked... I honestly don't know what to think. I was prepared for a lot of things, but this..."

She paused and looked up from her bread. "I'm sorry, I'm being a bit of a downer, aren't I?"

"Your fears are well founded," Teal'c told her. "But I have faith that your world will recover."

"Thanks. So, uh, how's Rya'c?"

"Fine."

"You still keeping in touch with Ish'ta?"

"Indeed."

"Bra'tac?"

"Bra'tac is well."

Sam sighed. "Come on, Teal'c. Throw me a bone here."

"How is Pete Shanahan?"

Her face darkened. "I... I don't know. I haven't talked to him since before the attack. I hope he's okay, but I know there were Jaffa in Colorado Springs, so..."

"I am sure Pete Shanahan is well."

"I'm trying to stay positive," Sam told him. She stood to leave. "Well, uh, I'll get back to the engines."

* * *

**Stargate Command**

The delegates sat around the SGC conference table, in the briefing room above the control room. Oshu stood behind his master. Several armed guards were visible in the room- what wasn't visible was the even larger heavily armed contingent posted outside. The blast doors were open, affording them a view of the Stargate. The message was clear.

"Your unexpected defeat of Anubis has created an unstable situation among the System Lords," Camulus stated. "In order to avoid open war, we came to an agreement to divide his territories and his armies evenly."

"How civilized of you," Daniel commented wryly.

"Yes. Unfortunately, one of us has broken that agreement."

"Oh, no, no, don't tell me, let me guess..."

Amaterasu cut him off. "Ba'al."

Camulus continued. "He was able to learn the location of the planet where Anubis was creating his Kull Warriors."

"Ba'al got there before you did and figured out how to program the soldiers to serve him," Daniel surmised.

"With those Orac at his command, Ba'al has tipped the balance of power in his favor," Amaterasu finished.

Weir turned to Daniel. "Orac?"

"Unspeakable," he translated.

"In battle, the Kull are far superior to the Jaffa," Camulus explained. "Already, many among us have begun to speak of capitulation, much as they did with Anubis. If that happens, Ba'al will indeed be unstoppable."

"I'm sorry, but I think you're making excuses," Daniel argued. "If you're allowing your Jaffa to be engaged and slaughtered by Ba'al's warriors, that means your fleets are being annihilated as well."

"The effect remains the same," Amaterasu shot back, cryptically.

"Well, this is all very interesting I'm sure, but…I fail to see what it has to do with us," Weir told them flatly.

Yu gestured to Oshu, who leaned down. His master whispered in his ear before he rose up again and spoke. "My master wishes to say, it is well known the Tau'ri possess a powerful new weapon. Something far beyond their current level of technology."

"Yes," Daniel replied smugly. "We used it to kill Anubis and destroy his fleet."

"By means of this weapon, Ba'al can be prevented from conquering the galaxy," Oshu added.

"If Ba'al defeats us, how long do you think it will be before he turns his attention to you?" Camulus asked rhetorically.

"If he does, he'll suffer the same fate as Anubis." Weir replied slowly.

"Perhaps," Amaterasu allowed. "But there are other worlds in this galaxy without the luxury of such advanced defences."

Daniel leaned toward her. "What are you talking about?"

"We could not help but notice that the Asgard did not come to your aid when Anubis threatened your planet," she replied. "In fact, we've heard nothing from the Asgard for quite some time now."

"Really?" Daniel said, raising an eyebrow. "That's odd, because we talk to them all the time."

"The Asgard didn't come because they knew it wasn't necessary," Weir stated.

"Ba'al believes otherwise," Amaterasu told them. "He is convinced that the Asgard can no longer exercise power in this galaxy. He intends to take the planets protected under the Goa'uld-Asgard treaty, for himself."

Camulus added, "If you do not help us stop him, millions of humans will die. And millions more will be enslaved."

* * *

**The White House**

"Mister President, Doctor Weir from the SGC."

President Hayes put out the cigarette that seemed to always be between his fingers before taking the phone. "President Hayes."

"We've begun negotiations with the Goa'uld, sir," Weir informed him. "So far, they haven't offered us anything, but they've delivered a warning."

"What kind of a warning are we talking about?" Hayes asked. _Please, no, don't be another attack!_

"One of the System Lords- Ba'al- has broken off and is fighting the others. He's taken over some of Anubis' assets, including the Kull production facility. The war is currently going in his favour. Sir, I believe he intends to unite the Goa'uld under his own rule."

"Ba'al, which one is that?" Hayes asked. "Never mind. What do the other System Lords want?"

"I'm not sure, sir, at least not yet. I believe they want our assistance in some way, but they have not asked for anything specific. What is troubling is that Ba'al intends to break the Protected Planets Treaty."

"He's calling our bluff."

"Yes, sir. If it's any conciliation, it was clear from the beginning that sooner or later, someone would call it. As far as I can tell, the Asgard have next to no presence in this galaxy, and certainly no way to enforce the treaty."

"Couldn't have picked a worse time. Damn it. Thank you, Doctor. Keep me informed."

He handed the receiver back. "Anything else interesting happen?"

"Actually, yes, sir. Several minutes ago, we received a transmission over longwave radio. Old style, Morse code. It's from Europe, sir."

"Well, give it to me!" Hayes demanded. "Why didn't you tell me this the moment it came in?"

"Sorry, sir. A lot's happened, I've got family I haven't heard from, and I've been on duty for over a day-"

The President placed a hand on the young Airman's shoulder. "It's all right, son. This has been hard on everyone. We're all on edge right now. Just give me a printout."

"Yes, sir." While he waited for the man to get him the text, Hayes lit up another cigarette. Lung cancer was the least of his worries.

* * *

**Cargo Ship**

"We are preparing to drop out of hyperspace," Teal'c stated.

Sam nodded from her position beside him. "As soon as we drop out I'll start broadcasting a signal. If the Asgard are monitoring the region then they should find us."

There was a noticeable jolt as the cargo ship transitioned back into normal space. Teal'c commented, "Should we not be able to see the planet?"

"Yes," Sam replied, nodding her head nervously.

The ship shuddered again, and there was an audible groan from the engines. "We are experiencing the effects of an extremely powerful gravitational force."

"Something's not right. Teal'c, turn us around and get us out of here, now."

Teal'c briefly manipulated the controls, then replied in the closest thing he had to a worried tone, "Hyperspace generator will not engage. Sublight engines are at maximum yet we are not moving."

"There's only one thing I know of that could create this kind of gravitational pull," Sam told him.

"A black hole," he replied darkly.

Sam got up and headed into the rear compartment, locking her helmet down over her head on the way. A moment later, she came back. "It's pretty much what I expected. We burned out the hyperdrive getting here."

"That is most unfortunate," Teal'c understated.

She sat down, shaking her head. "Even if it was working it would have been very dangerous to open a window this close to the event horizon of the black hole."

"Are we that far off course?"

"No!" Sam replied. "We came out of hyperspace right where we were supposed to. This doesn't make any sense. Hala's sun wasn't nearly massive enough to collapse into a black hole."

The vibration quickly grew more intense and the whine of the engines even more pronounced. They could practically feel the ship tearing apart under the stress. "We are now being pulled backwards. Perhaps if we divert power from the shields?"

"Right now they're the only thing holding this ship together," Sam told him, getting out of her seat and heading toward the rear compartment. "Drop them and the gravitational field could tear us apart."

"I do not believe there is any other choice!" Teal'c shouted.

"Diverting power." She opened one of the trays of crystals, removed one of them and closed the unit.

"We are now moving forward," Teal'c said reassuringly.

Sam ran back into the cockpit. "It's not gonna be good enough, we're losing hull integrity!"

"We've got a hull breach!" An alarm went off as the air began rushing out of the ship. The aft end collapsed and ripped away from the ship, the bulk of the atmosphere going with it before Sam and Teal'c disappeared in a flash of light.

_**Daniel Jackson**_

"Greetings," Thor said warmly as they struggled to regain their balance on the flat deck of the Asgard ship.

"Thor," Sam greeted.

"It is good to see you again, Major Carter, Teal'c," Thor replied, rotating his command throne to face the new arrivals. "I see you have acquired new uniforms."

"We finally got around to building something that provides a decent amount of protection. It's expensive, but worth it."

"I see."

"Did you get our transmission?" Sam asked him.

"In its entirety," Thor responded. "Though I wish to help the people of your world, I am afraid I cannot leave this sector. Not at the moment."

"Thor, you're the only one who can save O'Neill!" Sam urged. "And with what's happening on Earth, we need him back."

"As you have said, he is being preserved in stasis at the moment. I will be glad to return with you to Earth, as soon as my mission here is completed."

"What is your mission?" Teal'c asked plainly.

"I must wait here until I am certain the replicators have been destroyed. You may have noticed that Hala's sun has collapsed into a black hole."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, just before the back of our ship was torn off."

"The time dilation field was only a temporary measure," Thor explained. "We knew the time it would take for the replicator humans to reach the machine would translate to less than two years outside the field. Therefore, a more permanent solution was devised."

"So you collapsed the sun?" Sam asked.

"Yes. The planet has already broken apart. However, a large number of replicators have managed to come together in a coherent mass that has yet to pass the event horizon."

"Well, even if they can withstand the gravitational force without being torn apart there's no way they could ever-"

Thor cut her off. "Interesting."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"A mass of replicator blocks have begun moving away from the event horizon," Thor told her, bringing up a display that showed their egress.

"How is that possible?"

"They have the time dilation device. I do not know exactly how, but they seem to have used it to counteract the gravitational effects that should be pulling them in."

"Frightening," Sam mused. "Not only that they can do that, but that you don't know how."

"I agree," Thor said wryly. "They are picking up speed. Scans indicate the blocks have formed together into a kind of ship. They are escaping. Their course indicates they are heading this way."

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Sam asked as the Replicator ship closed the distance.

"No, and it is doubtful my ship's weapons will be effective against it. In addition, we must clear the gravitational distortion field of the black hole before I can engage the hyperdrive."

"They are firing upon us." The ship shuddered several times in quick succession, and Thor informed them, "The hull has been breached."

"Where?"

Thor highlighted the area on the display. It was in the aft end of the ship, near the engines. "The damage is minimal. The projectile was likely composed of replicators. They are not visible to my ship's scanners. This is how they have boarded Asgard ships in the past."

"Teal'c," Sam motioned towards the crates Thor had beamed over. He nodded in response, and they quickly geared up, grabbing tactical vests, shotguns and machine guns.

* * *

**Stargate Command**

After the delegation had once again seated itself, Weir began. "We appreciate you bringing us this information, but it doesn't change the fact that we can't get involved in any internal Goa'uld dispute, and if Ba'al tries to attack any of the protected planets, he'll suffer the consequences."

"Unfortunately, we do not share your faith in the Asgard," Camulus replied. "We must stop Ba'al before it comes to that."

"Enough!" Yu slammed his fist down on the table. "Enough! With each passing moment, Anubis grows more powerful."

"You mean Ba'al," Daniel corrected.

"We know you have a formidable new defensive weapon, but with it you must wait for your enemies to come to you, and that can be dangerous," Camulus stated. "What if an enemy were to devise a means of defeating this weapon?"

"What exactly are you offering?" Weir asked.

"Hyperdrive engines," Amaterasu told her. "We know you have battleships that are not capable of interstellar travel. We are offering you the means to build a fleet that would allow you to take the fight to the enemy."

Weir mulled it over for a moment- or at least pretended to. In actuality, her mind was made up before they had even begun the talks. "Your offer is very generous, but I'm afraid we're going to have to decline."

"You would be able to hold the protected planets treaty, with or without the aid of the Asgard," Camulus pushed.

"I think the real question," Daniel said slowly, "Is how many ships do you have? We would need to build enough ships to match any fleet that would oppose us."

"We are not at liberty to disclose such information," Amaterasu replied bluntly.

"Well, then, this discussion is over," Weir replied, standing up.

"How can you blindly reject such an offer?"

She sat back down, folding her hands on the table. "Because we're not about to fight your battles for you, in exchange for a couple of hyperdrive engines that may or may not do us any good in the long run. And especially since we already have that technology at our disposal."

"The Ancient weapon," Amaterasu mused, unspoken threat evident in her voice. "Such an advanced piece of technology. The power requirements must be enormous. Even simple maintenance must be extremely difficult, given your limited capabilities."

Weir smiled. "We manage."

"Of course, we believe you. But I wonder what Ba'al would think if he were to receive intelligence that the weapon was…temporarily out of commission?"

"Oh, come on!" Daniel retorted. "Ba'al would never fall for that. He knows how desperate you are. I think he might find this information a _little_ bit convenient."

"Perhaps," Camulus replied. "But you leave us few options."

"Okay, we'll do it," Weir told them. She paused. "In exchange, we want Ba'al's territory."

"What do you mean?" Camulus asked.

"Well, that's the way it works right? When one System Lord kills another, he takes over his armies, his fleet, his planets. That's what we want. Everything in Ba'al's possession."

They looked at Weir, stunned. Amaterasu was the first to break the tense silence. "You cannot be serious."

"If we're going to be the ones who destroy Ba'al for you, why should we settle for anything less?" Weir shot back. "Take it or leave it."

"We must send a message to the other System Lords, to advise them of the current situation," Camulus concluded.

"Go ahead. I will inform my own superiors." Weir stood before leaving the room, Daniel following a moment later.

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

"We have eliminated all the Replicators we could locate," Teal'c stated as they stepped back onto the bridge.

"There is no way of knowing if there are more," Thor replied. "The replicator ship has entered hyperspace."

"Can you pursue them?" Sam asked.

"Yes." There was an ever-so-slight lurch as the Asgard ship jumped into hyperspace.

"Do you know where it's going?"

"Before you destroyed them, the replicators managed to access the ship's computer. They learned the location of Orilla, the planet where we are attempting to rebuild the Asgard civilization. I assumed it would be their first target."

"What is your reasoning?" Teal'c asked.

"Orilla is rich in neutronium, which is a key element in Asgard technology," Thor replied. He added, "It is also essential for the creation of human-form replicators."

"How can we stop them?

"My ship's weapons will not function in hyperspace. Much like the shields. However, in close proximity, the self destruct may be sufficient to eliminate both ships."

Sam stepped up to his command throne. "Thor, that's suicide!"

"I am sorry, but we have no choice. If the human-form replicators reach Orilla, they will have the resources to replicate many thousands of times. We cannot allow that to happen."

"Thor, there's got to be another way!" Sam urged.

"This ship is equipped with escape pods," Thor reassured them. "They will not withstand a hyperspace transition without significant damage, but your suits may allow you to survive until rescue arrives."

"What about you, Thor?"

He ignored her pressing. "We are almost within range."

Suddenly, the lights on the bridge faded, and they could hear the ship's background noise change in tone as the engines' output dropped sharply. The lights came back on, but the Replicator ship was already pulling away. "We are slowing down. Something is interfering with the controls."

* * *

**The White House**

President Hayes sat in the Oval Office, across from General Maynard and General Jumper. They both looked as tired as he felt. Beside him, a cigarette fumed atop the White House seal on an ashtray. "So they want to play hardball?"

"Yes, sir," General Jumper replied. "I concur with Doctor Weir's assessment. They know they can't win against Ba'al without us. If they can't get us to cooperate- maybe even if they can- they're going to test us to see if we really have the weapon. They may be bluffing, which would be a rational assumption, but we know the Goa'uld are anything but rational."

"This could be a bit of a problem. Has there been any progress reverse-engineering the Ancient weapon? Getting it to work again?"

The two generals shared a look before Jumper replied, "We haven't even tried, sir. So far all that's happened is posting a small guard contingent on the site, out of McMurdo. Our attention has been focused elsewhere."

"And the Prometheus?"

He shook his head. "Severely damaged. So far we haven't been able to accomplish much in repairs. She might be able to take out a single Ha'tak in a suicide run."

"So we've got nothing."

"I'm afraid so, sir."

Hayes turned to the other general. "Francis, you've been awfully quiet lately. Anything to add?"

General Maynard chewed his lip. "Sir, I know it's a political matter, not a military one, but I've been thinking about the message we received from Europe. What exactly did it say?"

"You haven't read it?"

"Haven't had the chance, sir."

"Not much. The governments of France, Germany, and a few others are reasonably intact, at least at the highest level. Severe damage to several cities, civil unrest, people demanding to know what the hell just happened. France and Germany have declared martial law. The United Kingdom government is fractured, and the Deputy Prime minister has taken near-complete control of the country despite heavy opposition- it's a clusterfuck over there."

"Sir, we need to do something about the situation in Europe. They're going to blame the attack on us-"

Hayes raised his hand, cutting him off. "You're preaching to the choir. Problem is, we have enough problems of our own. We can barely communicate with that continent."

"Mister President," General Jumper began. "Admiral Clark told me that the Lincoln battlegroup can sail for Europe and be there in a few days at maximum speed. It might be a good idea, just to show the flag."

"And what'll that do?" the President asked. "Rub it in their faces?"

"There are tangible advantages-"

"I know, I know." Hayes massaged his temples. "It's been hell these past few days."

He stood up and paced the room. "We really need to get everyone together, all the world leaders, to discuss a plan of action, to figure out what we're going to do and damn well do it! But everyone's caught up in their own problems, hell, even I am. We need to pull together as a species, but we're falling apart."

He shook his head, taking another puff on the cigarette. "God damn it."

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

"It was one Replicator," Sam told Thor as she entered the bridge. She exhaled. "Just one. It tapped into the auxiliary engine control console."

"Yes," Thor replied in a neutral tone. "The Replicators have been known to use such infiltration tactics. Unfortunately, their ship is now beyond our reach. We are too late to stop them from reaching the new Asgard homeworld."

"So what do we do now?"

"I have managed to send advance warning to Orilla. By providing them with the replicator ship's course and speed, they should have a fair approximation of where it will drop out of hyperspace. What ships we have available will be waiting in ambush."

"You believe the Asgard ships can destroy the replicators before they can raise their shields," Teal'c inferred.

Thor nodded. "Yes. They will only be defenceless for a few moments, but if my calculations are accurate, it should be sufficient."

An image of an Asgard appeared on the ship's viewscreen. "Commander Thor, this is Aegir of the _Valhalla_. We have assumed defensive positions and are awaiting the target ship."

"Understood," Thor replied.

Aegir turned away for a few moments, speaking in unintelligable, hushed tones, then turned back to face them. "The enemy ship has been destroyed. However, Replicator blocks are currently raining down on Orilla. It would not be unwise to assume they will soon begin replicating again."

"Understood, Aegir. I will arrive shortly."

* * *

**Stargate Command**

Elizabeth Weir sneaked a brief glance at Daniel in the control room before stepping forward to see their guests off. Behind them, the Stargate was dialling to the same neutral planet they had arrived from. She didn't know the exact contents of the messages that had been sent back and forth, but apparently the talks were off.

"It's unfortunate you're being recalled," she said to the delegation. "I thought we were making such good progress."

"Your demands are ridiculous," Camulus spat in reply. "We have no choice but to terminate negotiations."

"Well, give my regards to Ba'al."

Camulus glared at her but said nothing as the Stargate activated. They stepped toward the Stargate, only to have it shut down when they were but a few feet away.

Amaterasu turned and came back down the ramp, the rest of the delegation following. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Second message," Daniel replied, stepping into the room. "You've been recalled because the System Lords have decided to test our defences. They're sending a ship to attack Earth. It'll be here within the hour."


	4. 1x04 New Union 2

I realize that I've been completely forgoing comments for SGD Director's Cut. It's been a lot more work than I expected, though I should have known better. The original plan was to fix things up a little, but as soon as I looked through the old chapters I came to the conclusion that most of the story would have to be completely rewritten.

So far, there's a lot more than the original version. The original version of Lost City was maybe 5000 words or so. I believe the new version is two or three times that. New Order/New Union/New Dawn will be far longer than New Order/Alliances/Reorganization was. Originally, this was only going to be two parts, and then a two part Rising and one part Assault to get the episode numbers in line with the original as soon as possible. That's not going to work. SGD Director's Cut will be two episodes longer and the numbers will not line up.

Please tell me what you think. I'm making a lot of changes, and I'd like to know what you think of them. I think this rewrite has become a lot more grimdark than the original. Also, Captain Roberts' backstory. I need ideas for it. So after you read, please leave a nice review. Thank you.

**USAF _Prometheus_**

"Sir, sensors have detected an alien vessel," the officer sitting to Hammond's left reported. "It exited hyperspace at range fourteen thousand kilometres, offset eight degrees starboard, four degrees dorsal."

"Designation?" General Hammond asked.

"None yet, sir. Vessel is approximately the size of a Goa'uld mothership. Closing fast."

"Sound general quarters," Hammond ordered. "Prepare to intercept at maximum possible sublight speed. What is the status of our shields and weapons?"

"Thirty percent shields available, railguns six, seven, and twelve are out of action, missile tubes one through seven are functional."

"Prepare to fire. Let's just hope we don't have to. Open a channel, broadcast on all frequencies and translate into Goa'uld."

"Yes, sir."

"This is General George Hammond of the Earth ship _Prometheus_. Unidentified vessel, failure to reply will constitute an act of aggression, and we will respond with the full force of our weapons."

"Sir, they're responding with... Asgard protocols. Audio and visual."

"Put it on."

The stoic face of Teal'c filled the entire screen. "That would be unnecessary."

Hammond smiled. "Teal'c. It's good to see you again, son."

"I have brought greetings from Thor, the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. We are aboard the _Daniel Jackson_."

* * *

**Stargate Command**

The System Lords stood as Elizabeth Weir stepped in, accompanied by a pair of armed guards. They glared at her, but she ignored it.

"I have just received word that the Asgard have arrived. They want to witness the demonstration of our new Ancient defence technology that you have forced us into," she told them before offering, "There's still time to call off the attack."

"We would also like to witness the demonstration," Amaterasu replied sharply. There was a moment of stalled silence before another voice interrupted.

"Yeah, well, your ship isn't coming," Daniel Jackson told them, entering the room. "It was destroyed en route by Ba'al. The collective forces of the System Lords are bowing, and you're losing the war."

"And so are you," Yu reminded him.

Daniel was formulating his response when he disappeared in a flash of light, shocking everyone in the room.

_**Daniel Jackson**_

"Hey guys!" Daniel greeted.

Thor did not waste any time, immediately explaining the situation. "Our new colony is in grave jeopardy. The replicators escaped from the time dilation device and are threatening to destroy the Asgard."

"Okay, so, what can we do?"

"Thor is convinced that the Ancient knowledge in Colonel O'Neill's mind may contain the key to destroying the Replicators," Sam explained.

"Jack's frozen down in Antarc-"

In a flash of light, the Colonel appeared in a sealed life-support pod next to Thor's control console. "-tica."

"Wow, I guess you guys are really in a hurry," Daniel commented wryly as they jumped into hyperspace.

Thor stood up and walked slowly over to the pod. Sam asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to merge O'Neill's mind with the ship's computer," he replied, manipulating the controls.

"Wait a minute," Sam interrupted. "To do that, you're going to have to bring the Colonel out of stasis. He was near death when he went into the chamber. Bringing him out could kill him."

"Hopefully, the pod will sustain his life."

Daniel arched an eyebrow. "Hopefully?"

"What other choice do we have?" Thor asked, slightly irritated.

"Well, can't you just save him, like the last time this happened?" Daniel asked. "Just wipe the Ancient knowledge from his mind."

"Then we would lose any chance of learning a means to defeat the replicators," Thor replied. "The future of our entire race depends on this."

"You have no right to risk his life," Daniel insisted.

"I believe O'Neill would approve," Teal'c offered quietly.

"We can't make that choice for him," Sam added. In truth, she was of two minds. On one hand, emotionally, she didn't want to see the Colonel hurt. On the other, logical hand, she knew what the stakes were. "Thor, can't you just extract the knowledge to the ship's computer? Then we can all benefit from it, maybe even learn how to use the Ancient weapons on Earth."

"You cannot even begin to comprehend the extent of what was unfolding in O'Neill's mind," Thor replied, exasperated. "Our scientists, long ago, extracted parts of the Ancient Library of Knowledge, and learned much from it. But we have been studying it for as long as I can remember and we have barely scratched the surface."

"So we're looking for a needle in a haystack?" Sam commented.

"A haystack of practically infinite size. I am hoping O'Neill's conscious mind can provide us with a direct conduit to the information we need."

* * *

**The White House**

"God damn it!" President Henry Hayes swore. Calming down slightly, he added darkly, "Well, at least that's one disaster averted, if only barely."

"With all due respect, sir, we knew the Goa'uld were going to betray us one way or another," General Maynard informed him. "We should have assumed that from the get-go."

"And what if their intent was honourable?" Hayes argued. "Then _we_ would have looked like the suspicious, plotting, scheming bad guys."

He paused and chuckled mirthlessly. "But then again, maybe we are. Any news on the rest of the world?"

The General shook his head. "No, sir. Communications are slowly being restored to a basic level, but the response is basically the same. The Russians are with us, the Chinese are against us, and Europe is in too much of a mess to do anything right now. I think I should mention, however, that some people are getting past the shocked stage and into the panicking one. We've had sporadic reports of civil unrest and civil disobedience- nothing confirmed, but I think it can be assumed at this point what we're looking at."

"We need to keep it from getting violent. Order the National Guard and all remaining law enforcement to take necessary measures to prevent injury and property damage, but go no further."

"Yes, sir."

The President sighed and habitually reached for his cigarettes, of which there were none left. He sighed again and picked up the phone on his desk. "Megan, could you get me another pack of cigarettes? All right, thanks."

He put down the phone and turned back to General Maynard. "I know, they'll kill me, and I thought I had the habit gone, but I think it's the least of my worries right now.

"No, what worries me is Ba'al. That devious bastard must have been planning on taking power the whole time. He's got the advantage, he's got the rest of System Lords on the run, got them so desperate they asked us for help. Let's just hope he doesn't call our bluff."

"And if he does, sir?"

"Then all we can do is pray. The Asgard didn't stay long enough to even say hello, so we can assume they're not going to help us. There's a hell of a lot I want to talk about- need to talk about."

"As I understand it, sir, their homeworld has been invaded by the Replicators and their entire race borders on extinction."

"Well, it's a shitty time for everyone," Hayes remarked as Megan strode in with his next pack of cigarettes.

**Stargate Command**

Oshu stood as Weir entered the room. She greeted neutrally, "You wished to see me?"

"You must let us go," he insisted.

"I don't have to do anything at this point," she replied, appearing slightly agitated. She turned to leave.

"If your intent is to extract information from us, you should know I will die before I say anything. And nothing my master says can be trusted."

She turned around. "Look, no one has decided what to do with you."

"Anubis was overconfident, and he still needed the bulk of his armada to keep the System Lords at bay," Oshu told her frankly. "The fleet he used to attack Earth was small compared to that which Ba'al will command should he defeat the System Lords. He will rule the galaxy. No weapons will be powerful enough to stop him."

"What would you have me do?"

"Free us to fight," Oshu replied. "Or if we must... die with honour."

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

"He is not well," Thor commented as he began bringing O'Neill back to a state of consciousness.

"We told you," Daniel replied, slightly smugly but mostly concerned for his friend.

"The process of interfacing his mind is complex."

Suddenly, O'Neill's voice echoed through the bridge. "Hello. Testing, testing. One, two, one, two, one, two, testing. Hellooo. Is this thing on?"

"Colonel?"

"O'Neill, can you hear us?" Thor asked directly.

"Hey! Hey guys. What's going on?"

"Your mind has been interfaced with the Daniel Jackson," Thor informed him.

"What?" Daniel and Jack asked at the same time.

"It's the name of Thor's ship," Sam explained.

"All the information in the ship's computer is available to you," Thor continued.

"Ah, right, here we go. Oh, this is cool. I can pretty much do anything I want, can't I?" The lights flickered on and off several times in quick succession.

"O'Neill, I suggest that you do not play with vital systems," Thor chastised.

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

"If you wish, you may appear to us as a hologram."

On cue, a hologram of O'Neill appeared behind the rest of the team. It shuddered and shook out its hands.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Carter asked.

"It's a little weird. But, yeah, I'm okay."

"At least you're not speaking Ancient," she joked.

"Actually, the computer is translating," Thor corrected. "There is not much time, O'Neill."

"I know," the Colonel replied. Seeing the team's quizzical looks, he explained, "Ship's log."

"Can you help with the replicators?"

"Already on it." The hologram waved its hands at the rest of the group. "Talk amongst yourselves."

It turned around and disappeared. Shortly after, an image of a strange-looking device appeared on Thor's screen.

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"I am unsure," Thor replied. "It seems O'Neill's mind is building something, virtually, in conjunction with the ship's computer."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Sam remarked.

Thor turned to her and replied, worried, "We do not have much time. I do not know how much longer his life can be sustained."

* * *

**The White House**

"Let them go," Hayes ordered, lighting up once more.

"Sir?" General Maynard questioned. "With all due respect, Mister President, I don't believe that is the best course of action."

"They aren't going to give up information," the President argued. "Even under torture, it's doubtful any of them would snap. And we're not allowed to do that anyway. They're prisoners of war, and subject to the same laws as any other prisoner of war."

"Mister President, if we let the Goa'uld go and, say, the Russians, or the Chinese find out about it- hell, even if our own people find out- the results could be disastrous. They blame the Goa'uld- all Goa'uld. Knowing that we willingly let some loose on the galaxy-"

The President stood up and began pacing the room. "And if we do, then they'll argue that we should have let them go, that we're cruel and inhumane. Or maybe not. God, I don't know anymore. I want to give the people what they want- not just to get reelected- but I don't know what they want. I don't know what's good for humanity anymore."

He inhaled deeply. "But there's a military aspect we have to worry about, too. I believe that from a purely military standpoint it is in our best interests to release the captive System Lords. If they're fighting Ba'al, it ties up both sides."

"Yes, sir. I agree with your assessment, it's just-"

"I know what you're thinking, Frank. You're thinking politics, I'm thinking strategy, everything's all screwed up."

"Yes, sir, that it is."

**Stargate Command**

"I've discussed the situation with my superiors. They've decided to let you all go."

Camulus looked up at Weir from his sitting position on the holding cell bed. Slowly, he replied, "I must admit that comes as a surprise."

"My superiors believe that it would be more beneficial to allow you to fight Ba'al than to attempt to interrogate you."

She turned to leave, and Camulus called, "Doctor Weir!"

"You know my name," she remarked wryly, turning around.

"This may come as a surprise to you-"

Weir folded her arms. "I don't think anything could surprise me at this point."

"I wish to request asylum. My fleet was destroyed before I came here. My domain among the first to fall. I have nothing left with which to fight. The only thing waiting for me through the Stargate is shame and torture. So it is not true that I would be more useful to you out there but perhaps I could be of some use to you here."

"It's not my decision, but I will forward your request to my superiors." Weir turned to leave, and walked out the door uninterrupted this time.

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

An alarm suddenly began to sound. Carter's first thought was that they overloaded the hyperdrive somehow. No, that was impossible- they were still travelling through hyperspace. "Colonel?"

"I must revive him now," Thor insisted, working the controls and beginning the process.

"Wait! Not yet!" O'Neill protested. A red beam of light scanned across O'Neill's head, and seconds later the pod slid open. He stirred and raised a hand to his head. "Oy, what a headache."

He opened his eyes and found him looking at the rest of his team. Carter was leaning over the pod. Even in the bulky armour, damn, she was beautiful. It was a shame she'd never be able to tell her that. She smiled and told him, "Take it easy, sir. You've been through a lot."

"Jack, what's the last thing you remember?" Daniel asked.

"Getting my head sucked by one of those fucking Ancient headsuckers," O'Neill replied nonchalantly as Carter helped him sit up. He looked at the Major. "And something about twins."

He turned to the Asgard and asked, "Thor, you got aspirin?"

"You should feel better momentarily and your memory will slowly return." Thor informed him. "The specifications for the device you created remain in the computer. I believe I can synthesis it."

An oddly shaped device, about the size of a loaf of bread and made of silver, curved metal crisscrossed with cables, appeared on a stand in the middle of the room. He looked at it quizzically. "Sweet. What is it?"

"We don't know, but you made it," Daniel replied.

Thor clarified, "You accessed the Ancient knowledge in your mind and instructed the ship's computer to design it."

"It doesn't mean I know what it is."

"It is doubtful he would remember," Thor admitted ruefully. "The knowledge of the Ancients is gone."

Colonel O'Neill sighed. "All right, let me have a look."

He climbed out of the pod, and his knees buckled as soon as he put his weight on them. Carter grabbed him and supported him with one arm, her exoskeleton taking the bulk of his weight. "Careful, sir."

O'Neill slowly worked out the numbness in his legs, and gently eased out of his subordinate's grasp. He stepped towards the device and examined it. He tapped it twice with his fingers, and it responded with a metallic tinging. "Yeah, I got nothing."

* * *

**The White House**

"One of them wants to defect, sir," Weir repeated.

"You're shitting me," the President replied, lighting up another cigarette. "What kind of Goa'uld wants to give himself up?"

"A defeated one, Mister President. Camulus says that his armies and fleets have been destroyed. He claims that his empire was one of the first to fall."

"Do you believe him?" Hayes asked.

"At this point, sir, there is no reason to doubt the veracity of his claims. The System Lords are desperate. Ba'al is quickly taking over the galaxy and there's nothing they can do about it."

"Sir, this could be a win-win opportunity," General Maynard advised the President. "A Goa'uld could be valuable, both for morale and for information. He may be more inclined to cooperate with us."

"All right. Scan him, examine him, make sure there's no bomb or disease. If he checks out, I grant him political asylum in the United States of America."

"Yes, sir."

"With that being said, keep him locked up. We can figure out his exact rights later. That might be an international problem."

"Yes, sir."

After the connection terminated, the President let out a deep breath, interrupted halfway by a cough. "Well, at least that's taken care of."

He took another drag on the cigarette. "The galaxy is going to hell and Earth is going with it. The Chinese want exclusive control of the Stargate, I told them it's not going to happen and they threatened to nuke us. It's an empty threat, but I think the North and South Koreans have finally had it. Nobody knows who fired first, but it's a shooting war now and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Yes, sir. On the bright side, we have regained contact with Israel-"

"Who's threatening the rest of the Middle East with their nukes, because they took a bad hit and everyone's using the attack as an excuse to gang up and invade."

"What about Europe, Mister President? They seem to be pulling together, starting to restore some of the damage."

"Yeah, and that's all they're focused on. I asked Jacques if they knew what they were going to do after the mess got cleaned up. He shrugged- I mean, you could practically hear it- and said they had no idea."

"The Russians are on our side, sir."

"Yeah, that's when you know the world has gone to hell. When the Russians are the levelheaded ones who want to give everyone their fair share."

He puffed on the cigarette and sighed. "I don't know, Frank, I just don't know. We bought Earth a future, but at this point it seems like a pretty goddamn bleak one."

**Stargate Command**

One by one, the two Goa'uld and one Jaffa marched toward the Stargate, watched by the careful eye of armed guards. Doctor Weir stood at the bottom of the ramp to see them off, gazing at each one as they passed. Halfway up the ramp, Amaterasu stopped and turned around.

"Make sure Camulus knows he will forever be branded a traitor, and a coward," she spat before turning and following the other two through the Stargate. Seconds after they stepped through, it shut down.

There was no point in standing around. As soon as the Goa'uld had left, Weir trotted up to her office to make her report to the President.

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

There was a brilliant flash visible through the windows as the ship exited hyperspace, although the advanced inertial dampeners prevented them from feeling the incredible deceleration.

A grainy picture of an Asgard appeared on the viewscreen. Thor greeted, "Penegal. I am relieved you are still able to communicate."

"It may not last long. Were you able to procure a means of fighting the Replicators?"

"Possibly," Thor replied. "It still requires more research."

"Shouldn't you evacuate?" O'Neill asked.

"Unfortunately, that is no longer an option," Penegal told him. "Critical systems needed to save the minds of our people are already infected, and we do not have enough ships to transport all our bodies."

He paused. "Thor, you should know those infesting the colony are behaving in an organized fashion unlike any replicators we have encountered before."

"Perhaps they are being controlled by a human-form leader who has yet to reveal itself," Thor theorized.

"It is-" Penegal managed a few more words, but they were garbled. A second later, the transmission cut out.

"Penegal? Can you hear me?" Thor asked before turning to SG-1. "We have lost contact."

The viewscreen reactivated. Another Asgard- though only Thor could tell the difference- appeared. "Thor, this is Commander Aegir, of the _Valhalla_. We have lost contact with the colony."

"Aegir, communications are down," Thor replied. "What have you to report?"

"We have located what appears to be the remains of a human-form replicator, floating in space. It obviously survived the destruction of its ship. By all appearances, it is currently inactive."

"Transmit co-ordinates," Thor ordered.

"Use caution, Thor," Aegir warned before ending the transmission.

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Carter said as soon as it ended.

"It is likely that I am," Thor replied.

"What _are_ you doing?" O'Neill asked him.

"I am going to transport it aboard."

"Why?"

"We must learn the location of the human-form controlling the replicators on the planet." In a flash of light, a human-form Replicator appeared in the pod once used to sustain Colonel O'Neill's life.

"Anybody recognize him?" Daniel asked.

"No," Teal'c replied coldly.

"Nope," O'Neill said.

"No," Carter told him. It did, however, bring back some very bad memories of another human-form, Fifth. He had been different from all the others. Fifth could feel emotion, and for that he was regarded as flawed. It made him all the more reasonable and all the more dangerous at the same time.

The Colonel placed his hand on the glass cover. "Is it dead?"

"Hopefully, not completely," Thor replied, and he quickly removed his hands.

"All replicators are linked by a sophisticated communication system," Thor explained. "If we can use this one to tap into the network we will be able to see what any of the Replicators can see."

"And if he wakes up, is this pod going to hold him?" Colonel O'Neill asked.

"Probably not."

SG-1 immediately headed to the supply crates Thor had beamed aboard to grab weapons. Teal'c picked up his shotgun again, and O'Neill and Daniel both grabbed P90s. Carter first fitted her helmet to her head and sealed it before throwing open what she thought contained an M249. Inside, however, was the large, awkward-looking X-699 energy weapon prototype.

"Thor, what's this doing here?" she asked, picking the weapon up and examining it. She flipped the power switch above the grip, and it came to life, emitting a gently hum and a blue glow from the end.

"It is an energy weapon of your own design," Thor explained. "While simple projectiles are more effective against normal Replicators, it is our belief that energy weapons are more effective against human-forms, though we have not had a chance to test that hypothesis."

Carter nodded, shouldering the weapon, but slinging an M4 carbine across her shoulder, just in case. All four of them aimed their weapons toward the pod. O'Neill remarked, "You know, Thor, maybe this isn't the best idea."

"I will transport it back into space if necessary, but we must take the risk." Thor manipulated the stones on his control consoles, and what appeared to be a random pattern of lines or streaks appeared on his small viewscreen.

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"Replicator communication data," Thor replied. "I am searching for any references to other human-forms."

The lines disappeared, and a fuzzy, purple-tinged monochrome video took their place. It showed, from the front, the face of one of the human-form Replicators. Although the picture was small and lacked detail, they could all make out who it was.

"Fifth," Carter muttered.

"Samantha, I know you are seeing this," Fifth began. "Welcome back."

Suddenly, the feed disappeared. Inside the pod, the Replicator's eyes snapped open. Its head turned to face SG-1, and they backed away with their weapons at the ready. It took a moment to refresh its damaged exterior before O'Neill shouted "Beam it out!"

The transporter activated, but the Replicator failed to dematerialize. "I am trying. It has made itself resistant."

The lights went dark, and Thor told them, "It has breached the internal barrier and interfaced with my ship's computer."

The stasis chamber slid open, and the human-form climbed out. They opened fire, pouring bullets and buckshot into the machine. It stood there, soaked up the rounds, and then refreshed its skin again.

Carter aimed the X-699 as best she could- it had no sights- and pulled the trigger. It sent a blast of energy toward the Replicator, blowing a chunk loose and fusing the blocks behind. She fired again and again as it advanced toward her, each time slowing the machine slightly but not stopping. On the fourth shot, her weapon overheated and blasted a shower of sparks into her thankfully covered face.

The human-form Replicator grabbed her and, despite the additional mass and strength her armour afforded, pulled the weapon out of her hands and tossed her into a wall. She hit it hard, but her exoskeleton absorbed the majority of the force.

"Carter!" O'Neill shouted, dropping his P90 and running toward the device he had built earlier. He picked it up, shoved his hand into the open back of it and, finding what seemed to be the trigger, pulled it. A barely-visible wave of energy, almost like a mirage, emerged from the device and hit the Replicator. For over a second, it stood still before disintegrating, its component blocks raining to the floor.

"I'm okay, sir," Carter assured him, pulling herself up. She glanced at the device.

O'Neill shrugged. "Had to do something."

"It seems to have permanently disrupted all communication between the individual cells, rendering each one inert," Thor explained as the lights came back on. "We explored such a technology in the past with no success."

"Great," he replied. "Does that mean we can use this thing to whack the rest of those bugs?"

"Even better, O'Neill," Thor told him. "Now that I have seen what the device does, I may be able to modify a larger version to broadcast a disruption wave over all of Orilla."

"All good. While you're doing that-"

"I have been able to pinpoint the location of the human-form Replicator," Thor informed the Colonel. "If you wish, I will beam you down and you may attempt to destroy it, though it will not be without risk."

"What's life without a little risk, huh?" O'Neill mused.

"I cannot transport you inside the replicator ship on the planet," Thor added. "Their defences prevent it, but I can get you close."

"Close is good."

As the rest of SG-1 grabbed more weapons, Thor handed a palm-sized control stone to O'Neill. "Take this, so that we may communicate."

* * *

**Orilla**

SG-1 trained their weapons around as soon as they materialized. Each of them was armed with an M249 machine gun and a USAS-12 shotgun except for Carter, who swapped the shotgun for the X-699 and O'Neill, who carried only the anti-Replicator weapon and a P90.

They advanced slowly and quietly before Teal'c whipped around and blasted a Replicator that had been quietly sneaking up on him off a tree trunk. Like the plug had been pulled from a drain, the Replicators advanced and began swarming them. O'Neill fired his weapon indiscriminately as the rest of his team poured bullets into the oncoming masses.

"Who's your daddy!" O'Neill shouted, before another voice cut him off.

"Stop!" The Replicators appeared to obey the command, pausing and backing away. They stopped firing.

Fifth was standing on a small rise, and slowly walked down towards them. O'Neill raised his weapon at the Replicator. "That's close enough!"

The human-form stopped and turned to face Carter. "Samantha, when I was in the time dilation field, I had a lot of time to think. From the moment I met you-"

She cut him off, maybe a little too harsh. "Fifth, stop. Human emotions are very complex, and it's amazing that you feel them at all-"

He smiled. "I'm glad you see that. That we have a future together."

"You're delusional!" O'Neill shouted at him. "Insane, gonzo, messed up, whacked-"

"Have you felt these emotions, O'Neill? Had feelings for someone, so strong you would move galaxies?"

"Maybe," Jack dodged. He did, but this was not the time or place to admit it. Not that there was a time and place to admit it.

"Is that why you invaded Orilla? Tried to wipe out the Asgard?"

"No, I did it because we need the neutronium to reproduce," Fifth informed her. "The technology of the Asgard will also advance our own."

"Is that really how you see things?" O'Neill stabbed. "In black and white? What you need and nobody else? Destroy world, replicate, get laid?"

Before the Replicator could respond, Carter continued, "I think you're amazing, technically, a machine with emotions like a human. But you have to understand, I can't let you do this. This is the future of an entire race you're destroying. And I will never love you."

"Then you will die." The Replicators became active again, and before they even started moving Colonel O'Neill fired his weapon into the human-form. It fizzled away and disappeared. A hologram.

As they continued firing against the renewed, stronger onslaught of bug-form Replicators, the Asgard communicator became active. "O'Neill, the Replicator mass is moving toward the facility and forming into a ship. I believe they intend to leave Orilla."

"Yeah, I know, but a beam-out would be nice right about now," he replied, firing the weapon as fast as he could move his arm. There were a lot of Replicators, and they were all around them. They tried to move forward toward the ship, but the onslaught was making that incredibly difficult, and it was only a matter of time before they overwhelmed SG-1.

"I am afraid that is impossible," Thor's voice buzzed. Teal'c had switched to his shotgun, and was blasting away Replicators as fast as he could swap in fresh magazines.

"What about the weapon? Is it ready yet?"

"It will be soon. Ninety percent."

"Cover me!" Carter shouted, flipping open the door on top of her M249. As she fumbled with the ammo belt, a Replicator leaped at her. She swung the weapon like a bat, shattering both the bug and her weapon's polymer stock. "Sir, if Thor doesn't pull through-"

"Thor, how close are you?"

"Ninety five percent. One moment, O'Neill."

They barely noticed the wave move through them- it was barely visible and couldn't be felt. Suddenly, all the Replicators disintegrated, broken apart by the energy wave. It was over.

"The weapon was successful," Thor informed them. "Reports from the colony say, all the remaining replicators have been neutralized."

"And the ship?"

"It opened a hyperspace window and escaped through it. Though the Replicator threat is still extant, we now have an effective means of fighting them."

"Great, well, now that's Orilla's saved, how about you give us a ride back to Earth." As soon as O'Neill finished his sentence, SG-1 disappeared, beamed up to the starship waiting in orbit.

* * *

**The White House**

"-arrangement is absolutely unacceptable! The People's Republic of China will not stand down until the United States of America accepts responsibility for the attacks."

"Please, would you calm down?" President Hayes urged his counterpart. "Now, more than ever, we need to put aside our differences. We're willing to make some concessions-"

"Sir, you need to see this," General Jumper interrupted.

"Not now, John," the President told him.

"Concessions? Your idea of concessions, Mister President, is to 'allow' the People's Republic of China into your 'alliance'. An alliance that consists almost entirely of your Western capitalist upper-class first world allies, including our breakaway province! An alliance that will no doubt be dominated by American interests to the exclusion of everyone else."

"It is an alliance of Earth, of all the humanity of this world. It's international participation towards one unified Earth force against extraterrestrial threats. It's a step towards world peace. We're not the only ones out here. Surely you must realize that this goes beyond the United States of America and the People's Republic of China?"

"You do not have one hundred million people dead! You did not lose half of your major cities to orbital bombardment!"

"Sir-"

"Not now, damn it!"

"Everyone's taken a bad hit. We're still totalling up the casualties. Everyone is feeling the same thing you're feeling around the world."

"You allowed this attack to happen. Through inaction- no, _deliberate_ inaction. The United States of America refused to share their knowledge, their wealth, their power with the rest of the world. You refused to even share it with your own people! Because of you, the world has suffered greatly. The People's Republic of China will remain at its highest alert status." The line clicked off.

President Hayes turned to the Joint Chief. "What is it?"

The General tilted a flat-panel monitor toward him and began playing back a short segment of footage. There was a city surrounded by desert, then a bright flash, then a mushroom cloud before the video cut out. "That footage was taken over Damascus by one of our reconnaissance aircraft based out of Iraq about half an hour ago. We can assume that Israel is under heavy attack and has been pushed into deploying nuclear weapons."

"My God..."

Another video clip played, this one a grainy shot of several grey ships against the backdrop of the sea. Streaks that may have been missile smoke trails arced over the frame, and there were several flashes from the ships- point-defense fire- before several of them exploded. "That was the ChiComs wrecking a Taiwanese fleet. We currently have no military forces in the area and the conflict is only going to escalate."

He turned off the monitor. "Mister President, though we do not have any video footage and the only picture we have are currently being analyzed, at this point we believe that North and South Korea are completely at war. We have no idea who's on the offensive and who's on the defensive, who's winning and who's losing."

The President pounded his fist on his desk. "God damn it!"

General Jumper took a deep breath. "Mister President, I think at this point it's time we cut our losses and focus on securing our own borders. I also suggest that we consider deploying Prometheus as a strategic weapon against our enemies on Earth."

"No, we can't do that. We need peace, not war- but damn it, we have World War Three on our hands! Out of everything we tried to avoid, everything we tried to prevent..." Henry Hayes trailed off.

And then he disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

_**Daniel Jackson**_

The first words Henry Hayes heard when he rematerialized emerged from the Russian President. "_Yob tvoyu maht!_"

It took a moment for them to regain their bearings. They were standing in a large room, circular in shape, with a podium at the front and several rows of seating arranged around the outside. What looked like a hundred men and women either sat in the seats or stood behind them. The Russian and the American were on opposite sides of the podium, in the top row. Between them were several familiar faces.

"SG-1, Supreme Commander Thor," President Hayes greeted. The two military members of the team came to attention and saluted, and he crisply returned the gesture. Dr. Jackson straightened up, and Teal'c bowed toward him. Thor walked over a few steps- the Asgard gait seemed odd to Hayes, especially in person- and he gently took the alien's hand.

"President Hayes," Thor replied. "Your team impressed upon me that your world was in grave danger. I arrived to render assistance as soon as I was able."

"Wait, Thor?" someone shouted from across the room. He had an accent- British? "As in, Norse god of thunder Thor?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," the Asgard replied. "We visited your world often."

He stepped up to the podium, climbing up several steps so that he could clearly be seen over its edge. "You are the leaders of the great nations of your world. Together, you can accomplish many great things. Divided, as you stand now, your world will be brought to ruin."

Thor turned to the President. "President Hayes, I have reviewed your proposal, as brought forward by SG-1. The Asgard believe that it represents the best future for your world at this point in time. For the benefit of those who have not been involved in prior negotiations, would you care to briefly summarize?"

"Yes, thank you." The President of the United States stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. He was nervous, nervous as hell, but tried his hardest not to let it show. "After the immediate danger was over, we- myself, my staff, and the President of the Russian Federation and his staff- began planning for Earth's future. It was clear that the world was forever changed by these events. It was clear that we could not continue the way we had in the past."

"Are you suggesting a world government?" the Indian President asked, a hint of disdain in his voice.

"That option was considered, and deemed to be impossible. We're not ready- none of us- are ready or willing to give up our nations, our sovereignty, our independence. It is our diversity which makes us who we are, which makes us strong. However, we do need to face the greater galaxy with a unified front- military and political- that represents the entire world. We need a new alliance."

"Excuse me, President Hayes, but what type of alliance are we talking about?" the Canadian Prime Minister asked.

"It would be an arrangement similar to the UN," Hayes explained. "A body made up of representatives from all member nations would make decisions which would then be passed into resolutions. It is expected that member nations accept and follow these resolutions, though it will not be binding. In addition, during times of war, a council composed of permanent and rotating members will have control over interstellar matters."

"The People's Republic of China will not accept such an arrangement!" a heavily accented voice boomed. Calming down slightly, he continued with the same harsh tone. "This is merely a plot to allow the new Russo-American alliance to control the world. Rather than accepting blame for the attack, the United States of America wishes to continue their dominance of the program and ignore the rest of the world."

President Mikhailov stood up and shouted back, "Under the new treaty, China would have more influence with regard to alien technology and interstellar affairs. In addition, your nation accepted the earlier Stargate Treaty knowing exactly what it implied. You were kept informed of current developments and continued without any objection. I do not take you for a fool, but I do believe recent events have clouded your better judgement."

"China will reconsider the treaty," the man replied quietly, deflated.

"I believe it is an important question to ask, who will have control of the Stargate?" the French President asked.

"A new international military force, tentatively called the Earth Allied Space Force," Hayes replied, starting to gain some confidence. "Assembled from the best men and women from military forces around the world, supported by the best minds of our generation, they will be our first line of defense against alien threats. It will be one unified service responsible for the Stargate, Earth's starships and alien technology on Earth."

He paused. "Ladies and gentlemen, right now we are fighting among each other as our people struggle to survive in the aftermath of the attack. Right now we are fighting among each other as the Goa'uld threat grows closer and stronger. We must act now before we lose our chance forever."

Thor stepped up beside the President of the United States. "If you wish, you may vote now. On the terminal in front of you is a display unit that responds to touch. The options are labelled in many languages, and should be clear regardless. You must tap twice to confirm."

"This isn't a binding vote," President Hayes assured them. "We'll work out the details later, on Earth. Right now, we just want an idea of who's on board. Who's willing to put down their guns, sit down and talk."

There was a dull murmur of discussion that reverberated throughout the room. Behind the President, Earth's flagship team was talking amongst themselves.

"You know, I was hoping for a pat on the back, at least," Colonel O'Neill complained to his teammates. "I did save the world."

"I'm sure the President just forgot, sir," Carter assured him. "It's been tense the last few days."

"Yeah, no shit." He paused. "Think they'll go for it?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Daniel replied. "The world has just been turned upside down. I think this is a good idea, and a lot of them know that, but the shock still hasn't worn out. Most of the world isn't using their better judgement."

"I think that most of them will go for it," Carter said, taking a more optimistic view. "At least the countries that really matter- Great Britain, Russia, France- basically the military and economic powerhouses of the world. The only thing that really worries me is China. They may not play along, and I'm not sure if I exactly blame them."

"I have great confidence in your people, O'Neill," the big Jaffa told him. "I trust that they will make the right decision, whatever that decision may be."

"See, Teal'c, you don't know politicians. They're scum that exploit whoever they can for personal gain." Seeing the President of the United States a few feet away from him, O'Neill hastily added, "Present company excluded, of course."

The results came in quickly. Thor read them out, his voice amplified automatically, without the distortion of a typical PA system. "Out of one hundred and fifty-one voters, seventy-two voted in favour, forty voted against, and thirty-nine voted neutral."

"I think the results are pretty clear. We're moving ahead," President Hayes announced, looking around the room. He turned to Thor. "Is there any way I can make a live broadcast to Earth."

The Asgard nodded. "Yes, allow me to reconfigure this starship's communications arrays. It will only take a moment."

"I have activated the ship's communications systems, tuned to your broadcast standards," Thor informed the President. "Anyone on your world who is watching will see you."

"Then let's get this show on the road," President Henry H. Hayes said before stepping in front of what was apparently the camera. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat.

"My fellow citizens of Earth. I stand before you today aboard a starship belonging to one of our long-time allies, the Asgard. Standing beside me is Supreme Commander Thor and the great leaders of the world- China, Russia, Great Britain, many others. The past week has been one of the hardest in human history. We fought an alien invasion unlike any event in human history, and we won. We fought amongst each other in the chaos afterwards, but at this point I am declaring victory over that war. As a people, as a planet, we must move forward together.

"We must accept our differences, acknowledge our conflicts, apologize for them, and move on. We must stand face in the face of terror, in the face of danger, under the threat of slavery or utter annihilation. I wish the circumstances could have been different, but from this point forward, it will be a different world. We are on the verge of advancing beyond anything thought imaginable, socially, economically, technologically, politically, militarily. As of this moment we are about to ratify a treaty that will unite the world like never before. We will strive to become all that we can be, we will strive to right the wrongs of the past and most importantly WE WILL DO IT TOGETHER!"


End file.
